Information for students on placements

Our placements

The team at Wigan & Leigh Hospice are happy to welcome students to our organisation. We have a variety of opportunities for learning which may involve time with different services, including:

Many students tell us they learn a great deal, not only about palliative and end of life care, but also about caring in general.

Approximately two weeks before you start your placement, we will confirm the names of your mentors/contacts, and if on a long placement on the Inpatient Unit, we will confirm your shifts for the first fortnight. Once you start you will be able to arrange your remaining shift pattern with your mentors.

Your mentors

Prior to your placement you will be allocated a practice assessor and practice supervisor (your mentors).
Your practice assessor and practice supervisor will be experienced registered nurses who have been prepared and supported to take up their role.

You will be supervised by numerous multi-disciplinary team members during your placement, but your practice assessor will make the overall recommendation for progression to your academic assessor.

Additional support

If you require any additional support due to a disability or health needs, then we will be happy to support you whilst you are on placement with us. Details of the Inpatient Unit student co-ordination team can be found below:

Lynne Dallimore (Deputy IPU Manager)
Rachel Shaw (Deputy IPU Manager)
Alison Ogden-Banks (Senior Staff Nurse)
Further points of contact include:
Dee Brennan (IPU Secretary)
Louise Spencer (Clinical Educator)

The point of contact for community services are:

Debbie Jones (Practice Development Lead)

Monica McCahery (Practice Development Facilitator)

Your first day

Please bring with you:

Passport – in date
Driving licence (this must have the same address as the address verification)
Address verification dated within the last 3 months i.e. bank statement, utility bill, HMRC notification (not a mobile telephone bill)
DBS certificate
NI number

*Please note – for spoke placements you are only required to bring your passport on day 1

The essentials

You will be required to wear a uniform for your placement.
Car parking is free on the hospice car park.

Find us: Wigan and Leigh Hospice, Kildare Street, Hindley, Wigan, WN2 3HZ

You are welcome to bring in your own food; we have a fridge and microwave in the staff kitchen. Any food you bring in must be labelled with your name and date. Alternatively, you can order and purchase hot food, salads and sandwiches from the canteen.
If possible, we will provide a small locker.

Testimonies

“Over the last three days I have been fortunate enough to attend work experience at Wigan & Leigh Hospice. The Winter School was an incredibly insightful experience into palliative and end of life care.

Overall, I had a great experience and was even selected to receive the award for Winter School Student 2024! I am do proud of this achievement and the entire experience was extremely informative. Thank you to Wigan & Leigh Hospice for the opportunity and thank you to Winstanley College for helping me to arrange this work experience!" - Olivia

Education and Training Opportunities

Our Practice Development Team runs a 12-week rolling education programme.

The team run a regular 12-week rolling programme. Below you can see some of the topics we cover:

Week 1:
Day sessions - Definitions of Palliative Care
Evening Sessions - Advance Decision to Refuse Treatment

Week 2:
Day sessions - Promoting Dignity in EOLC
Evening Sessions - Providing Emotional & Psychological Support in EOLC

Week 3:
Day sessions - Communication Skills
Evening Sessions - Managing Catastrophic Haemorrhage

Week 4:
Day sessions - Advance Care Planning
Evening Sessions - Management of Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillators at the end of life

For the full programme please email: pdt@wlh.org.uk

Examples of additional sessions:

HCA Induction Training
HCA Syringe Pump Awareness
Syringe Pump Training

We also have a Clinical Practice Educator based part-time at the hospice.

Wellbeing

At Wigan and Leigh Hospice, we take the wellbeing of our staff and visitors very seriously. The nature of the work we do, can be extremely emotional and upsetting, and can impact on staff in every department of our organisation.

If you are on placement at the hospice and feel you need to speak to anyone about a particular situation that has impacted upon you, then please don’t hesitate to speak to your allocated mentor or another member of staff, who can offer you support and provide you with information on how to access other agencies or specific strategies to assist you.

The hospice has a designated wellbeing module which went live on 1st August 2022. The initial module has a focus on resilience, and what we can all do to recognise influences on our wellbeing and positive changes we can make. Depending on the length of your placement, you may be able to access this module.

Wellbeing Champions

In addition to the wellbeing module the hospice has designated introduce ‘wellbeing champions’ across all areas. Wellbeing champions are colleagues who can confidentially listen, support and sign post you to support services. Please ask for details during your placement.

A quiet space

Sometimes we may just need to find a quiet space, where we can sit and reflect. The hospice has several break out rooms which can be used to have time out, or to discuss thoughts and feelings about a particular scenario which may be hard to make sense of.

Remember - just ask for help!

Sometimes we all need to ask for help. If you feel that you can’t cope or are feeling overwhelmed, then just ask.

The Mental Health Foundation has some advice on their website.

More about Wigan and Leigh Hospice

Our Mission, Vision and Values
What We Do
About the Hospice

Contact Us

Email: clinical@wlh.org.uk or telephone 01942 525566.