Thornbury night staff

Since our launch in 1983 we have operated a 24/7 service for our nurses and clients. By 24/7 we don’t mean that one of our staff goes home at night with an out of hours mobile on their bedside cabinet. We actually mean our office is open and staffed – 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

The world of nursing doesn’t start at 9am and finish at 5pm. It never stops, so why should we? That’s what makes us unique.

Our night duty teams are just as important as those who work in the day. They are there to support nurses who work throughout the night, whether that’s in a hospital or looking after someone in their own home. With our team always available, and a fellow nurse on duty to support with any clinical queries, our nurses know we’re only a phone call away.

It’s good to talk

Sometimes our nurses call if they’re having a particularly difficult time on shift and need someone to talk to – or if they want to share a particularly positive experience with us.

Our night duty nurses are also there to give advice to staff who may have concerns and need a second opinion. Knowing that someone is there to listen to your concerns, no matter what time of day or night, is invaluable, particularly for lone working nurses in the community. This isn’t only a matter of supporting our nurses’ morale, but about how well they perform too.

Move over Waze

We very often find ourselves helping nurses who are struggling to navigate to their shift or are lost. Driving at night isn’t easy, particularly in unfamiliar areas, so we help our nurses by having all the information at our fingertips, such as advice from our clients on using local routes and where to park. With the help of Google, we’re also able to advise nurses on local road closures and diversions.

My timesheet is on the kitchen table… *sigh*

The nature of working for Thornbury often means running out the front door and jumping in the car in less than five minutes. And sometimes the timesheets get left behind.

It’s important that our nurses can get their timesheets signed at the end of every shift so we’ll get timesheets to them overnight, be that via email or fax or by asking another Thornbury colleague on site if they have a spare.

Doing admin at 2am is normal, right?

If you’re a nocturnal nurse, doing admin at 2am is absolutely normal. Our night teams are trained to support you with Quick Nurse queries, accessing online training courses, confirming when you’ll be paid or querying a letter received from our compliance team.

Reassurance for clients

It’s just as important for clients to be able to contact us throughout the night. Our clients can call any time to seek urgent support to cover staff sickness, an influx of admissions or increased capacity. They can also call us with advanced notice for early shifts, rather than waiting till the morning when it’s normally pretty busy. Find out more about how we support our clients.

So whether you’re an early bird or a night owl, you’ll feel supported at Thornbury Nursing.