Lisa Copeland
September 2021
Lisa
Copeland
,
RN
Radiotherapy Department
Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
Leeds
,
West Yorkshire
United Kingdom
Lisa has led the way with her compassion, her extensive nursing experience, her ability to foresee future issues, and then to immediately contact the relevant teams to discuss.
Lisa has gone above and beyond with the care for one of the most challenging cases the radiotherapy department has ever dealt with. A young female adult with an extensive mental health record and consequent PTSD had developed oral cancer whilst pregnant. She was diagnosed just after giving birth and needed radiotherapy. After a few consultations, it was clear that we would not be able to deliver radiotherapy safely (due to severe dissociation reactions) unless she received treatment under general anesthetic every day for 20 treatments. We had never done this before with an adult patient. This resulted in one of the biggest collaborations between at least 10 teams across the Trust and the patient's local Trust. Lisa took it upon herself to liaise with every one of these teams, even came in on her days off to help with the treatment. She started planning for the start of treatment as soon as we knew how complex this was going to be. Once the patient had had a few treatments, Lisa looked at what could be improved.
This patient has now completed 3 out of 4 weeks of treatment. All the way through Lisa has led the way with her compassion, her extensive nursing experience, her ability to foresee future issues, and then to immediately contact the relevant teams to discuss. Lisa has ensured excellent communication between all teams throughout the planning process which has so far led to a very smooth treatment. Lisa has demonstrated that when at short notice such a mammoth challenge comes up, communication and efficient teamwork works best. She has been a great example of leadership. Thanks to Lisa's superb efforts, our team and department have raised our profile among the teams in the wider Yorkshire area, and have encouraged collaboration across the board. Many MDT staff members, even those working in the same building, did not know what Radiotherapy was, so this provided them with a perfect opportunity to see how we operate. This has led to a much improved mutual understanding of the strengths each team has, but also the challenges each team faces. The above has been done without exception, with great kindness, politeness, and empathy.
Her concern for the wellbeing of not only the patient and her young family but also the staff’s mental wellbeing has been inspirational. It has simply been nursing, patient care, and leadership at its very best. Lisa's work on this case has strengthened our network of contacts and brought out the collective spirit 'we're all in this together; let's do this for the patient! We can do it!' in all of us, and this must be celebrated.
This patient has now completed 3 out of 4 weeks of treatment. All the way through Lisa has led the way with her compassion, her extensive nursing experience, her ability to foresee future issues, and then to immediately contact the relevant teams to discuss. Lisa has ensured excellent communication between all teams throughout the planning process which has so far led to a very smooth treatment. Lisa has demonstrated that when at short notice such a mammoth challenge comes up, communication and efficient teamwork works best. She has been a great example of leadership. Thanks to Lisa's superb efforts, our team and department have raised our profile among the teams in the wider Yorkshire area, and have encouraged collaboration across the board. Many MDT staff members, even those working in the same building, did not know what Radiotherapy was, so this provided them with a perfect opportunity to see how we operate. This has led to a much improved mutual understanding of the strengths each team has, but also the challenges each team faces. The above has been done without exception, with great kindness, politeness, and empathy.
Her concern for the wellbeing of not only the patient and her young family but also the staff’s mental wellbeing has been inspirational. It has simply been nursing, patient care, and leadership at its very best. Lisa's work on this case has strengthened our network of contacts and brought out the collective spirit 'we're all in this together; let's do this for the patient! We can do it!' in all of us, and this must be celebrated.