Content warning: this blog discusses suicidal feelings
Every Parish Nurse is a registered nurse and is there to provide an additional layer of holistic support for individuals and communities. They are employed through a local church or Christian organisation, offering health education, advice and spiritual care to people of all faiths or none.
They are a powerful network and are stopping people falling through the gaps of support.
How parish nursing is making a difference
In the mid-2000s, a member of a church on the north east coast of England attended a Parish Nurse training week in Birmingham. A parish nursing service was subsequently established at the church. Several years after this service was set up, Jackie Lincoln, a registered nurse from North Shields Methodist Church, who had trained as a parish nurse in 2016, partnered with them to help provide a comprehensive whole-person health and wellbeing service.
Fishing is one of the significant local industries at North Shields, which is the biggest prawn port in England and Wales with up to 60 boats in the harbour throughout the seasons.
In January 2023, the leader of the local Fishermen’s Mission got in touch with Jackie. He wanted blood pressure checks along with health advice for his retired fishermen, but he also expected some interest from the current fishing community.
The Mission leader explained that fishermen often had chest issues as they used to smoke and drink in enclosed small spaces.
The first Parish Nursing health event for fishermen took place in February 2023. One of those attending was a working skipper, and he asked the team if they could help him with his mental health. He said he was not going out to sea because he was scared of what he might do. He said he used to have medication, but had it run out a long time ago.
Jackie contacted the local surgery and asked for him to be seen that day. The receptionist said she would get the duty doctor to call him. She arranged for him to borrow a phone, since he didn’t have one of his own and a face-to-face appointment was made that day.
The fisherman found her just before he left to go back to sea and said to her, “If it wasn’t for you, I don’t know what would have happened.”
A second session was held in April 2023 and the fisherman returned, saying that he now felt very well and was back out at sea.
“The fishermen are just the most lovely people ever,” says Jackie.
"They are very proud and admit to being ‘very stubborn’. But allowing time and patience for them means they open up and feel secure when divulging personal information.”
The Fishermen’s Mission clinic now runs on the third Tuesday of every other month at the church.
