A STUDENT nurse who has just completed a placement at Pendleside Hospice said it has been an 'invaluable experience.'

Frankie Bell, 31, spent 12 weeks at the Reedley hospice, working on inpatients, day services, Hospice at Home as part of her adult nursing course at UCLan.

Ms Bell from Burnley, who has worked at Royal Blackburn Hospital A&E as a health care assistant for the past six years, said that the time at the hospice has helped her in her role at the hospital.

She said: “Being at Pendleside has been eye-opening.

"At the hospital the focus is always on the condition of a patient and not the holistic side of patient care.

"It has been great to be able to spend time with patients, getting to know them and their families.

"Sometimes this has been seeing patients at the beginning and the end of their time at Pendleside, which is a very humbling experience.

“Since being at Pendleside I have found that I have approached my job in A&E in a different way.

"We are always very busy in A&E but I have tried to spend just that bit extra time with a patient, even if it is just being able to make them feel a bit more comfortable.

"It’s often small things can really make a big difference.

“We see a lot of palliative care emergency patients so the skills I’ve learnt at Pendleside will be very helpful to take back into the job. "