Annemieke was previously a Neurology Research Nurse and before that worked as a Regional Adviser for the MND Association as well as a Specialist Palliative Care Nurse Specialist at the Macmillan Unit in Bournemouth. 

Her role as MND Advanced Healthcare Practitioner Co-Ordinator at Forest Holme will be to support people with MND and their families from diagnosis onwards, as well as be a single point of access for people with MND and their families.

Annemieke, said, “I am absolutely delighted to have joined the wonderful team at Forest Holme. People with MND have to be supported by many professionals from both health and social care – physio, occupational therapy, speech and language therapy, nutrition teams, respiratory teams, social workers, specialist palliative care – so it will be my job to co-ordinate these services to ensure they receive what they need at the right time. 

Until now, most of these professionals have worked beyond their remit in order to ensure people’s needs are met, so my role will also ensure that they are able to continue to see people with MND but focus on the remit of their role.”

Forest Holme is part of Poole Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and is supported by the charity, which needs to raise at least £900,000 each year to help enhance the NHS provision at the hospice to deliver end of life care and support to more than 1,000 people each year with advanced cancer and other life-limiting illnesses.