Anna Morley has been appointed as a Mesothelioma UK Clinical Nurse Specialist to provide nursing care and support for mesothelioma (asbestos-related cancer) patients in the area. She will be based at the Southmead Hospital, part of the North Bristol NHS Trust.
Anna’s post has been made possible thanks to funding from the Avon Mesothelioma Foundation. As part of the Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire (BNSSG) Cancer Alliance, Anna will link with colleagues across the region to promote equitable access to mesothelioma specific support and treatment throughout the region.
In her new role, Anna will care for patients with mesothelioma from diagnosis and throughout treatment. She will also provide specialist support and advice to families, healthcare professionals, and link in with local patient support groups.
Anna qualified as a Registered Nurse in 2007 and worked on acute respiratory wards before becoming a pleural research nurse. For the last five years, she has been the Senior Research Nurse for the respiratory research team, leading a team of 15 to deliver a portfolio of research studies to respiratory patients including mesothelioma and pleural disease patients.
Anna has 12 years’ experience working with mesothelioma patients in a research capacity which has included enrolling patients to clinical trials, following their progress during trial participation and interviewing patients on their experience of trial participation.
Commenting on her new role, Anna said: “I am passionate about providing excellent care and support to mesothelioma patients and their carers at each stage of their journey and I’m excited to have been offered this new role.
“I feel privileged to be joining such a fantastic team at Mesothelioma UK and am looking forward to the opportunity to learn more about mesothelioma from the team. I’m extremely grateful to Mesothelioma UK and Avon Mesothelioma Foundation for their support of this post.”
Lorraine Creech, Head of Nursing for Mesothelioma UK, added: “Mesothelioma UK welcomes Anna to our growing team of 34 clinical nurse specialists, adding to our coverage of Cancer Alliance regions around the UK and bringing the benefits of her research experience. We’re also extremely grateful to the Avon Mesothelioma Foundation for funding Anna’s post.”
