Nurse Pat recognised with May award
An advanced nurse practitioner in CUH has been named as Cork Person of the Month for May.
Pat McCluskey has worked as a wound care nurse for more than 30 years while her work with the charity Facing Africa (FA) is also being recognised.
In 2015, Pat became involved with FA, which had been founded in 1998 by Chris and Terry Lawrence to help with the treatment of people suffering from Noma infection. Noma usually affects people living in extreme poverty and is an opportunistic infection that leads to a severe disfiguring gangrene of the mouth and face. Having spent two years in Zambia as a newly qualified nurse/midwife from 1983-1985, Pat had always hoped to return to Africa at some point in her career.
In May 2015, she travelled with a group to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. This included a team of four from CUH; two anaesthetists, a nursing colleague Ann Higgins, and a team from the UK.
More recently Pat has faced new challenges during the Covid-19 epidemic, in the area of pressure damage to the skin for patients who are ventilated. Pat noted: “Patients are nursed in the prone position, which is very rare. These are very problematic wounds; a side effect of the illness which is well documented from China and elsewhere.”
Speaking of her work, Pat said: “I am delighted to have received this award. The work I do is not for recognition. It is not a hardship and I have loved my nursing career. There is fun and laughter throughout the two weeks each year. Chris and Terry are extraordinary people; both now in their 70s. They run a superb operation and look after the team so well. The Ethiopian people are really warm, welcoming and fun-loving. I am proud to be a nurse in CUH during this current epidemic where the management and team work across all disciplines has been inspirational.”
Awards organiser Manus O’Callaghan said: “Pat McCluskey is an advanced nurse practitioner, with a big reputation amongst the medical community in Cork and internationally, in wound care management. She also lectures on the subject at many national and international conferences. No one, of course, appreciates her work more than the thousands of people she has treated in Cork and Africa over the years. She selflessly devotes her time to improving people’s quality of life, and helps to alleviate their suffering.”
We thank her for her bravery during the Covid-19 pandemic, and her ongoing commitment to the Facing Africa mission.”