Torch offers a neighbourhood Parish Nursing Service to the communities of Coley Park and Southcote in West Reading where our Parish Nurse, Melanie Gager RGN MSc, serves the local community in partnership with five local churches.
This service integrates and runs alongside the other activities of Torch with the aim of helping to improve and maintain the holistic health and wellbeing of local people in these more deprived areas of Reading. Having recruited our first nurse in early 2025 we are now seeking a second nurse and have aspirations to grow further, so if you are interested in a role as a nurse or a volunteer please see below.
Why employ a Parish Nurse?
In 2024 Torch was awarded funding to initiate the recruitment of our first Parish Nurse. At that time we had already been working closely with another Parish Nurse in South Reading who is employed through Reading Gateway Church. From this work we had seen the value of this service to the local community. Together, we were often serving the same clients in Jesus’ name by jointly meeting their holistic needs. To know about the Parish Nurse in South Reading or to make a referral go to: Parish Nurse – Reading Gateway Church
The work of the Parish Nurse in Coley and Southcote has been so fruitful that we are now recruiting a second nurse to work alongside Melanie.
This work also requires a small team of dedicated volunteers to support the nurses, so if this is of interest to you or you know of anyone who might be interested, we would love to hear from them.
What is a Parish Nurse?
A Parish Nurse is a nurse registered by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), working under its Code of Conduct. Confidentiality is within the Code: anything said to the Parish Nurse is kept private unless you are being harmed or are harming someone else, or at risk of doing so.
The Parish Nurse is not employed by the NHS but by Torch and will work closely with local churches, charities and agencies. Importantly they will complement but not duplicate, services offered by existing NHS and social care agencies.
Torch will be undertaking this project in partnership with the national charity Parish Nursing Ministries UK, who will provide clinical supervision, training and support to ensure that the service is well run. See https://www.parishnursing.org.uk
Where and when will they work?
The service is available to anyone living within designated areas of Coley and Southcote. These are areas of West Reading where significant deprivation and need has been identified in the local communities.
What does the Parish Nurse do?
Parish Nurses work with people of all ages and backgrounds, with any faith or none, focusing on the person rather than just a medical condition, and integrating all the different aspects of health. Typically the care they offer might include:
- Health screening and advice
- Health promotion/education
- Help with stress and anxiety
- Health support for short or long-term illness
- Medication advice
- End of life support
- Support/well-being groups
- Home visits
- Spiritual care including prayer, if wished
- Referral to faith leaders as appropriate
The role complements, but does not replace, the NHS and other statutory services
The Parish Nurse is uniquely placed to be able to attend to the well-being of the ‘whole person’, irrespective of their faith, or no faith, their age, sex, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation or ability. At Torch we believe that everyone is valued and accepted by God, and we want to demonstrate His love and hope to all.
Melanie’s Story
Hello, my name is Melanie, and I am the Parish Nurse for Southcote and Coley. I’ve worked in healthcare for over 40 years, most recently as a Nurse Consultant in Intensive Care at the Royal Berkshire Hospital Trust. I loved that role, but in 2025 God called me to lay it down and step into something new.
When I first saw the Parish Nurse application, I had never even heard of Parish Nursing. Yet God made it clear this was His calling. After training and now some experience, I can see just how great the need is. Through Torch, I now serve as a registered nurse, caring for the whole person – body, mind and spirit – in the heart of the community.
Southcote and Coley together have over 22,000 residents. The needs are many, but God encourages me to build relationships one by one. At the local Pantries I listen, learn people’s challenges, and offer advice, advocacy, and health support. What makes Parish Nursing unique is time – time to listen, time to walk alongside people, and, when asked, time to pray. I serve those of any faith or none. It is a privilege to sit with families facing long-term illness or the final stages of life, and a joy to introduce those who are lonely or isolated to the many activities in our local churches
I also work with schools, GP practices, the council and charities such as CCA, The Mustard Tree and The Cowshed. I’m often amazed at the good already happening across Reading and grateful to play a small part in building bridges between healthcare, community and local churches. Parish Nursing brings me joy because it takes me to the marginalised and unheard – to those who are heartbroken, body broken or spirit broken. My idea of “normal” is challenged daily, but again and again I see God at work, bringing wholeness and hope.
My hope for the future is that the Parish Nursing team will grow.
My vision is simple: to know people by name, to hear their stories, and to bring peace in the name of Jesus.
Interested to know more?
To know more about Parish Nursing see: https://www.parishnursing.org.uk/
Here is an advert for the current vacancy for a Parish Nurse: Parish Nurse Poster Advert Oct 2025
If you are interested in applying for the Parish Nurse role please see the Role Description and Person Profile: Parish Nurse JD and PS Oct 2025
To enquire further about the Parish Nurse role and ask for an Application Pack please email: melanie.gager@torchhub.org.uk
To register your interest to volunteer to support the Parish Nurse: click here
To donate to the work of the Parish Nursing service: https://torchhub.org.uk/donate/
With Thanks
We are grateful to those agencies, trusts and individuals that are helping to make this service possible through their generous funding and donations.