Lesley’s Story

Lesley has worked in hospice care for 26 years after previously managing a nursing home. Prior to that, she also worked within intensive care and acute medicine and surgery. She originally joined the hospice as a staff nurse and worked nights on the Inpatient Unit for 5 years, but when the vacancy within the Practice Development Team became available, she knew it was time for a change. Here is her story.

Making a change

“I began my journey at the hospice as a staff nurse on the Inpatient Unit, but after a while I recognised that I wanted to move into a role that was out in the community and had regular shifts during the day. That is when I decided to apply for a role within the Practice Development team as I knew I had the skills for the job.

I saw the post 12 months previously to applying but put it on the back burner due to doubts and my own thoughts about working in a community. I knew that I would be able to do it and I knew I had the skills for the job but there was other concerns I had such as not being familiar with the area – but I had to tell myself that I have a sat nav in my car and if I didn’t know where I was going, someone will tell me!

So when the role came up again, it was a change and progression for me personally that came at the right time. The regular shifts have helped and it is exciting because you really don’t know what you’re coming into everyday!”

Joining the Practice Development Team

“My role in the Practice Development Team is an Associate Facilitator. That involves supporting care homes and extra care facilities in the area with managing their patients at end of life. This can involve either support visits or phone contact or just role modelling care skills at the patients’ bedside.

For me that is the clinical side that I really like and enjoy – it is helping to support those homes so that their patients are in their preferred place of care, and they’re receiving good quality, dignified end of life care. Our day-to-day tasks are very varied and depend on what day of the week it is. Our day will either be spent visiting care homes, contacting the care homes that I support or running training sessions from our extensive teaching programme that are run through the year.

Team Hospice

The team is very dynamic and supportive of one another. If we can’t look after one another then how are we supposed to support our colleagues in the community and the people they’re looking after? It’s a very innovative team and if you have an idea it is always discussed and taken forward and tried. I feel privileged to be in this role as you’re involved with somebody’s care and are supporting their family when they are at their most vulnerable and going through some very sad times. The word hospice has negative connotations around it, but it is not, it is a happy place that is evolving and changing. The phrase ‘We are trying to give life to days, not days to life’ has always stayed with me, because it is true.

When I was working on the Inpatient Unit, myself and another nurse were having a chat and a laugh about something a patient had said to us outside another patients’ room. Their door was open and I was mindful that the person could hear us so I popped in and said ‘I’m really sorry, I will close this door’ and the patient said ‘No you carry on, I love to hear you girls chatting and laughing because I know that life is going on outside.’ I just thought that was so powerful.

I would highly recommend anybody to dip their toe into working here or just volunteering here. Because you never know what might come out of that.”

If you would like to join the Hospice team, see our current vacancies here.

Published November 2024