Sylvester says the aim was to establish a network to connect palliative nurses and to advance the specialism. Workshops, webinars and professional education are just some of the ways in which the society is strengthening nurses’ capacity while also advocating for the integration of palliative care into mainstream healthcare.

“It is nurses who are driving palliative care in Kenya. We are specially trained in handling sensitive issues and it is the compassion of nurses that helps us champion the patient when they need us most.” Sylvester says he has noticed a huge difference in the palliative care landscape in Kenya in the nine years since he started working in the field. But gaps in service remain in parts of Kenya and Sylvester hopes that the growth of PANUSK will help plug those gaps.

“With the help of mentorship programmes, if we can make sure that at least one person in every hospital we can transform patient care across the system.”

Certainly, word is spreading fast in Kenya and Sylvester and his colleagues running PANUSK now face a major decision; whether to respond to demand from nurses working in other specialisms to join the society. A decision will be taken at a meeting next month. Sylvester is keen to credit his membership of GPNN for some of PANUSK’s success.

“Everyone in GPNN has one common goal and through the network we are able to get expertise from different parts of the world, to see the innovations that work in some places and not in others. So, then we’re able to think global and apply local, taking learnings from our international peers and adapting them to the Kenyan context. In practice, Silvester has taken learnings from GPNN colleagues in Cameroon, Bangladesh, Lebanon and Abu Dhabi.

“That’s why we’re trying to mobilise more people from PANUSK to join GPNN so they can open their eyes to see what it’s like practising outside Kenya as well.”

With a strong start to its short life, Silvester has ambitious plans for the society in the next decade.“Capacity building is one of the main goals – to ensure we have a workforce that can handle the burden of people with palliative care needs and to see that integrated in the community. “I’d also like to see some of our nurses in policy making positions as well as teaching and mentoring so they can help the next nurses coming through to be leaders.”

The list of aims and objectives doesn’t stop there. Sylvester would like to see a further extension of compassionate communities supported by high school, college and university students, an established home care service and a functioning tele-medicine service too.

Challenges and barriers do remain though, Sylvester acknowledges. The sheer size of Kenya makes in-person meetings difficult for those nurses working in some outlying areas. There remains, he adds, a less than universal acceptance of the importance of palliative care and limited opportunities for nurses to return to education.
“Inch by inch we are getting there,” Sylvester says pragmatically. “We’ve now had a palliative care policy in Kenya for five years and we as nurses have revised the national guidelines.”

With a clear vision, growing membership, and a deep commitment to compassionate care, PANUSK is helping shape a future where palliative care is accessible, integrated and patient-centred across Kenya.

Sylvester and his colleagues are always interested in collaboration and you can contact them via panusk@gmail.com.