Five Minutes With…a Specialist Nutrition Nurse
“I hope that I make their time as an inpatient a little less tough.”
Meet Hannah Jordan, Specialist Nutrition Nurse at Moseley Hall Hospital. With 20 years of nursing experience, Hannah is passionate about improving patient wellbeing and ensuring those with complex nutritional needs receive the best possible care.
In this edition of Five Minutes With, Hannah discusses her role supporting patients who are unable to safely/ sufficiently eat or drink by mouth. Using her expertise in enteral feeding and nasogastric tubes, Hannah's work helps keeps patients well-nourished and hydrated.
Alongside providing specialist care, Hannah plays a key role in training colleagues to assess, replace and repair enteral feeding tubes, ensuring patients receive safe, effective treatment and enabling a smoother transition from inpatient to community care.
As a Specialist Nutrition Nurse, please could you explain the work you do to support patients and staff?
Luckily, BCHC has a whole team of community nutrition nurses. I started my current role in 2023, and I am based at Moseley Hall Hospital (MHH) where it's my responsibility to support all inpatients that have or need to have an enteral feeding tube.
Patients may have a feeding tube for all sorts of reasons, primarily to support with their nutrition, hydration or allow us an alternative way for giving them their medications. Without an enteral feeding tube, these patients would be at high risk of malnutrition and dehydration. It is my job to review, replace or repair these tubes. I review them regularly to ensure there are no problems with the tube or the insertion site but am also available for emergency troubleshooting visits if needed.
I am also responsible for ensuring inpatient staff are trained and supported to safely care for enteral feeding tubes across MHH and at The Willows at West Heath Hospital and can help provide or arrange any feeding tube training that would support a patient's safe discharge into the community.
What inspired you to work in this field?
During my career I have cared for patients with feeding tubes across a range of ages. I've worked with babies in neonatal intensive care units. I started working for BCHC as a special school nurse and now I work in adult community. It was a specialty I really thought I could get stuck into. I have never once been sick of talking about enteral feeding tubes!
What do you love most about your role?
The split between managing a patient caseload and teaching. I love being able to have regular patient contact and closely monitor patient progress whilst they're in hospital. I hope that I make their time as an inpatient a little less tough. I also love being able to have dedicated time for teaching inpatient staff. Being around them and getting to know them all individually, learning from them and being able to support them with any enteral feeding tube needs makes the role feel worthwhile.
What is the most difficult thing about your role?
Trying to get people to love nasogastric tubes as much as I do is a struggle, and quite understandable really. But I'll keep trying.
Tell us something that people might not know about you?
I have worked as a nurse for nearly 20 years across four different countries.
Describe yourself in three words.
Cheerful. Responsive. Kind.