Association of Stoma Care Nurses UK (ASCN UK) is a national organisation for Stoma Care Nurses in the UK. Founded 2013, it replaced the World Council of Enterostomal Therapists UK (WCET UK); although continues to work in collaboration with the international association – World Council of Enterostomal Therapists (WCET). It is a charitable trust and has an elected committee and trustees. It has an annual conference which allows Stoma Care Nurses from around the country to network and share best practice, developmental ideas and case studies with their peers
During the ASCN UK conference 2018 the ASCN UK closed Facebook page was introduced. Set up by Nicola Jennings from Good Hope Hospital, UHB, Sutton Coldfield and Andrew Bird from Queen’s Medical Centre, NUH, Nottingham, the objectives of the group are:
• To provide a place where Stoma Care Nurses can get involved in honest and open discussions
• To share experiences on issues surrounding stoma care
• To be a valuable resource for information, ideas and solutions.
Members were invited to join the group by sending the following details by from a work email address to [email protected]:
• Name
• Job title
• Place of work
• Facebook name
• Email address linked to their Facebook account
This allows for validation of identity, ensuring that only healthcare professionals in the stoma care field gain access to the closed group.
This new way of contacting our peers, it is hoped that the group will provide a wealth of knowledge in a safe and private environment.
Much of this experiential knowledge will not be available to all via the normal avenues of medical and nursing literature but could provide a much needed hand when dealing with the inevitable ‘heart sink moment’.
With no fixed agenda, the ‘floor’ is open to contributors to share best practice or ideas as well as ask for help with tricky problems that you may face, or even recruit into research projects.
The invitation to join the closed group has now been opened to any stoma care nurse working within the NHS or for a Stoma Care company within the UK. If you are interested in joining please send an email to [email protected] giving the information listed above.