About me:
My name is Pippa and I am the Ward Manager of the Inpatient Unit at St Rocco’s Hospice. I joined St Rocco’s from the NHS where I worked in a hospital. I am really close to my family – my dad also worked in healthcare so he understands how stressful it can be. I have four cats called, Millie, Maggie, Lulu and Oliver, as well as a chihuahua called Charlie boy!
My role:
I am responsible for and look after all the nurses and healthcare assistants on the ward. I make sure that we are delivering a high standard of care to our patients. I like to be a ‘hands on’ member of the team so you’ll usually find me on the ward involved in all the nursing duties that happen on a palliative care ward.
A typical day:
We start each shift with a handover meeting from the team on duty the shift before. They talk about the patients that are currently on the ward and any issues that there might have been. Then we will do the medication round which gives us the chance to say hello to each patient and check they are comfortable or whether they may need a change in meds to help with any symptoms. After this, we will move on to washes. Then we have a medical handover with the doctors. On Tuesday, we have a Multi-Disciplinary Team (MDT) meeting with other community professionals to discuss any patients waiting to come into the hospice and to talk about suitable placements or adaptations for anyone who is ready to be discharged from the ward.
One moment I will always remember:
There are so many moments that make you proud to be a nurse at St Rocco’s Hospice. I remember spending time with a really lovely family and the patient reminded me of my dad – that really hit home. Another time, I knew a patient for about a year before they came to the hospice for care. I noticed their syringe driver needed changing in the middle of the night and when I came back with the replacement, they had died.
What I love about what I do:
I work with a really great team of people, and we talk things through as group. It’s important that we remember not to take all the sad and hard times home with us.
Being there for people in the darkest of times is a privilege, knowing that you can do something, even just a small thing, to make it a bit easier for a patient or their loved ones, like create a happy memory. I remember arranging for a patient’s pet to come and visit them on the ward and seeing them smile.
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