Twenty five years of cystic fibrosis nursing at NNUH

The Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital (NNUH) is celebrating a quarter of a century of cystic fibrosis specialist nursing.

The first CF nurses started working at the hospital in 1994 to support patients with the genetic condition and their posts were originally funded by the Cystic Fibrosis Trust.

In the last 25 years the team has grown from one CF nurse to a team of three looking after patients with cystic fibrosis and patients with other respiratory conditions.

Alison Betteridge, Cystic Fibrosis Nurse Specialist for Children, said a lot of their role involves outreach work to help patients with CF look after their condition at home.

“I’m pleased that ward staff know only a very few of the 70 patients living with cystic fibrosis we have locally. This is testament to the work the CF team, patients and their families for keeping children well and out of hospital.

“Having the children’s and adult CF centres on one site gives us a huge advantage over many CF centres in the country, meaning that we are better able to support young people in their transition to adult services.  We also go out to King’s Lynn for shared care patients and offer a local service at the James Paget University Hospital to enable a closer to home approach.”

More than 10,000 people in the UK are living with cystic fibrosis. The genetic condition causes a build-up of thick sticky mucus in the lungs, digestive system and other organs. It can be diagnosed during newborn screening, which is carried out as part of the heel-prick test that all babies in the UK receive.

For more information about the Cystic Fibrosis Trust, visit https://www.cysticfibrosis.org.uk/