Nurse joins the Street Angels

EASING the pressure on A&E . . . Oldham Street Angels (from the left) Hannah Land, Kay Barton (A&E nurse), Chris Molden and Sarah Furbey

OLDHAM’S popular Street Angels are now playing a vital role in easing the pressure on hospitals, thanks to a boost in funding.

The group of volunteers who patrol the town centre clubs at the weekend, have receive money from the Oldham Clinical Commissioning Group to have an emergency-trained nurse on the team.

Jean Hurlston, Oldham Street Angels co-ordinator, said: “The importance is we can offer first aid while on the streets. There are often minor injuries like cuts and falls and people often go straight to A&E. By having a nurse on our team we can treat a lot of injuries directly, which saves the NHS money and time.”

Kay Barton (32), an A&E nurse at North Manchester General Hospital, has now joined the Street Angels team four times since the end of August thanks to the funding.

Kay said: “I found out about the Street Angels from a friend and I really like the idea of it. I found it very interesting and really wanted to get involved. It’s a great cause.”

Jean is encouraging more A&E-trained nurses to come forward and express an interest in joining the team.