Nursing

As a nurse in secondary care you will be seeing not only patients that have been diagnosed with genetic haemochromatosis (GH), but also patients that may be experiencing symptoms of GH that are being investigated but have not been diagnosed.

Nurses are in a great position to be able to not only identify these symptoms but be the health care professional that patients choose to talk to and disclose all the symptoms they have.

A nurse on a ward looking after a patient who has been admitted with abnormal liver function may then be identify other symptoms that patient has that could all be being caused by genetic haemochromatosis.

A nurse working in a outpatient department may routinely be checking a patient’s blood pressure and heart rate in a cardiology clinic for symptoms relating to cardiomyopathy and chronic fatigue, when the patient starts talking about their joint pains, swollen hands and pigmented skin. What seems like a completed unrelated symptom could all actually be pointing to a diagnosis of GH.

This is why it is important for nursing staff to be aware of the symptoms of GH.

As well as being able to offer advice and support to patients who have already been diagnosed but have questions and concerns about their health. This nurses' guide has everything a nurse needs to know to be able to support their patients diagnosed/undiagnosed.

Guide for Nurses & Healthcare Practitioners