About us
we are
Parish Nursing Dundee
Our role as Parish Nurses is to reach out, through street outreach work, drop-in sessions and one-to-one meetings to support folk and walk with them on the often long and lonely road towards recovery. We believe recovery is whole-person health and wellbeing, including body, mind and spirit, and our approach is person-centred. We don’t do any invasive treatments, but we can provide first aid, a listening ear and love. We have access to 2 highly trained counsellors who will work with an individual over an agreed period of time. Referral to this service is through the Parish Nurses.
We will always treat people with respect, impartiality, dignity, and lovingkindness.
Love in action
We don’t try to ‘convert’ people to Christianity; our calling is to reflect God’s love into people’s lives by the way we live and work. We work with folk of all faiths and none, always respecting the values that they may be clinging on to in their troubles. We offer to pray with and for folk if that is what they want, and that does often happen.
Working together
Right from the beginning we have worked closely with the local NHS Homeless Health Outreach Nursing Team (HHOT), with other Dundee homeless drop-in facilities and with multiple local statutory and voluntary agencies. Through the ‘Building Bridges of Hope’ meetings we have brought multiple services together, building greater respect and recognition of each other’s contribution towards making Dundee a heathier and better place to be.
here for you
Meet the team
Barbara MacFarlane
Our founding Parish Nurse, Barbara works on a voluntary basis. She is a Registered nurse and continues to take a full part in the running of the drop-in sessions. Barbara is a Trustee for Parish Nursing Ministries UK and a Fellow of the Queen’s Nursing Institute Scotland.
Kirsty Nelson
Kirsty is our full time Parish Nurse, her role includes running the drop-in sessions, supporting individuals in their recovery journeys, supporting students on their placements with us, and the management of the Dundee Recovery Road map. Kirsty is a volunteer with Prison Fellowship Scotland and spends time supporting some of the women in the Bella Unit, including running the Sycamore Tree course. Kirsty has been a Queen’s Nurse since 2021, and remains highly involved with the organisation, as well as being part of the Scottish Government Clinical Advisory Group on Drugs.
Stevie Black
Jo Corlett
Jo is a volunteer Parish Nurse who supports us when she can. Jo also works as a reader at the School of Health Studies in Dundee University. Jo also teaches on the Parish Nursing course, as well as supporting us with student nurses who come to us for Practice Learning as part of their course.
Supported by volunteers
Our work is supported by a team of about 15 volunteers who come along to the drop-in sessions and provide a warm welcome and serve good food to those who attend (anything between 45 and 70 people at any session). Some of our volunteers are people who came along to us for support and are moving on with their lives. We simply could not do our work as Nurses without the support of this brilliant and very lovely and loving team.