“I started working at St Clare Hospice 5 years ago, as a staff nurse based on the Inpatient Unit. Just recently, I was promoted to the Team Leader, managing the rest of the team and working together to care for people who are staying with us.”
“The team are amazing; the wealth of experience and knowledge they’ve got is incredible, so I feel very humbled to be the Team Leader. They’re such a lovely team of people and we all get along so well. It really feels like a family.”
“I worked as a Community Staff Nurse within Loughton for 12 years before I came to St Clare, going to visit people in their homes. I loved it, and acquired such a variety of different skills.”
“Working out of hours a lot of the time, to fit in with my 5 children, I gained a lot of experience visiting palliative care patients during the night time. I found that it was during the evenings that people find things quite difficult, so often my visits were for reassurance and spending time.”
“It was during those years that I found my passion in palliative care, as I felt like I could really make a difference to people. I made the decision to specialise, and applied for the staff nurse post at St Clare.”
“Since then, I’ve had so many experiences that have left lasting impressions, shaping how I care today.”
“A lot of the support we give is about communication and listening. We get to know the people we care for, and their families, and help them to not feel frightened about what they are going through.”
“When people first arrive, you can see that they might be feeling a bit unsure and tense. People tend to fear the word, ‘hospice,’ and think that if they visit it’s going to be the end – but it’s simply not true.”
“Many people come here for a stay with us, and then they go home. They might come back to us, and then go home again. Sometimes, people do pass away with us, depending on where they are at in their journey, but sometimes they don’t; a lot of the time we just help people to get their symptoms until control, and manage any pain they may be experiencing.”
“After that first initial arrival, people do relax, and often find that their pain actually reduces because their anxiety has subsided. ”
“Palliative care is not just about the medicine – it’s about the whole picture, and addressing what we can do to help a person in every aspect of their lives.”
“We have a hairdresser who comes in on a Wednesday, who offers to give people staying with us a haircut. People don’t expect to be having their hair done, but the next minute she’s got them going down to Day Therapy for a pampering session! It normalises things for people, and they forget their misconceptions of hospices.”
“We also do a craft afternoon – Craft Tea ‘Noon – and we encourage people to take part in that. If it’s a sunny day, we encourage people to spend time on their private patios, as if they were just at home enjoying a summer’s day.”
“Where we take the pressure off of people, we enable families to once again feel like wives, husbands, mums, dads – you name it. We support people to be able to enjoy being a family again.”
“There are no visiting restrictions, there’s tons of free parking, and people can stay overnight if they wish. We always make people comfortable, but if they want to go home then that’s fine too – they know their loved ones are being cared for and we’ll always call if we need to.”
“People who don’t know St Clare find it strange, but the hospice really is a warm, bright place, full of happiness. It is such a lovely, relaxing place that helps to take the weight off of people’s shoulders and improve their lives.”
“Often, people say that St Clare feels like a little community in itself, and they really feel a part of it. People come back to us, and keep in touch, because they know that we genuinely care about them.”
“I feel very passionate about palliative care and working at St Clare. I feel humbled and privileged to be making a real difference to people every day, supporting people throughout their journeys.
– Lynne