Guernsey Community Services North Team and Twilight Team

Guernsey Community Services North Team and Twilight Team have been nominated for Emergency Hero of the Year

When Helen and Ian O’Meara’s mother passed away at 5am in her own home, the team turned up within 20 minutes.

‘Whether expected or not, death feels like an emergency to the uninitiated, like my brother and I, which is why we nominate the Community Nurse North Team and the Twilight Team in this category,’ Helen said.

‘Few people outside of healthcare would understand how natural death unfolds.

‘If that moment wasn’t an emergency there had certainly been several along the way.

‘To be always patiently and empathetically met by teams who knew our mother, knew where her hard-to-find house was and gave the impression that we were the most important people they were dealing with right then was priceless.

‘New equipment, new practices, new drugs – all when we were in the never-before-experienced no-man’s land of watching our much-loved second parent fade away in our amateur care at home.

‘Without the support, humanity and expertise of all involved we could not have done it.

‘Community care may be invisible to islanders who never experience their services. But we would urge both judges and islanders alike to remember that not all emergency heroes use sirens and wear hi-viz uniforms, some come in tunics and fleeces but are superheroes when you need them.’

Other Finalists