HOSPICE WEEK: Carers who go the extra mile

Part of what makes it special is the intensive, one-to-one therapy offered, with more than 250 members of staff employed there backed up by an army of volunteers.

Those welcomed through the doors receive more than just clinical treatment, but friendship and support from people trained in everything from aromatherapy to nursing.

We met a handful of the staff who make the two hospices what they are.

Paediatric nurse Samantha Jackson, 31, from Botley, has been at the hospice for four-and-a-half years.

She said: “It was the one-to-one care and home-from-home atmosphere that attracted me.

“You can spend more time with the children than on a busy ward.”

She said she wanted to dispel negative perceptions about hospices.

Ms Jackson said: “It’s such a happy place. People have the impression that hospices are often sad but it is happy because all the children love being here and they have fun.

“The most rewarding part is seeing the children being so happy and enjoying their time here and the parents being so grateful just to have that respite so they can have some time for themselves.”

Sheelagh Byrne, 56, joined Helen House as a carer in 2003, and was recently appointed Douglas House manager.

She still works shifts on the care team.

She said: “The word hospice can put terror into people’s minds because they think it means death.

“But when the young people come here they liken it to being like a hotel. They can also have their dreams facilitated, go to a gig, stay out all night or go to a party.

“I have never worked in a job where you never know what’s going to happen, who’s going to turn up or what you’re going to be doing – you could be dealing with people celebrating, or you could be dealing with a family grieving and a young adult who has died.

“I feel privileged to work here and share part of these people’s lives.”

When the first person died at Douglas House, Ms Byrne said tears were pouring down her face as she talked to the family.

She said: “We’re only human.

“You’re not falling about all over the place, you have to have a professional attitude, but every one of us here is touched by one of the young adults or one of the families.”

Dr Jo Elverson, 33, from Barton, started working at the two houses in January, and has a background in adult palliative medicine.

She works at the hospice three days a week.

A typical day includes talking to the care teams, dealing with things like chest infections and sharing information with families and patients. She is also involved when someone comes in to the hospice for end of life care.

She said: “Sometimes that is difficult if it’s someone you have got to know really well and that is tough, but we feel really privileged to be involved.

“I love working here.

“My favourite thing is the variety.

“I remember a six-year-old whose pain I was trying to sort out and I was trying to explain even if I got rid of it, I couldn’t guarantee it wouldn’t come back.

“I watched his lip tremble, then he changed the subject and said, ‘I farted on dad in the bath’.

“I had to completely go with his change of mood and we had a good laugh.”

Speech and language therapist Sonya Fink spends one day a week at Douglas House. She started on the care team in 2009 before being taken on as a therapist.

Mrs Fink uses technology such as ‘eye gaze’ computers, and takes patients into the sensory room.

She said: “The team here are wonderful and I was never afraid to ask any questions.

“I was surprised how different the atmosphere is from my perception of what a hospice was like.

“It’s not just end of life care, it’s for anyone with a life-limiting condition.”

Jo Micallef, 46, is the complementary therapy co-ordinator and provides aromatherapy massage for hospice guests and their families.

She said: “There’s nothing typical about a day here.

“I used to work on a very busy specialist surgical children’s ward and this is the other extreme.

“It’s a lovely service to be able to offer and the children come for quite different reasons.

“For those with pain or movement disorders, for that moment in time and sometimes for a little bit afterwards, they can get a bit of relief. I think the parents get a lot out of it too because they are very stressed and don’t get any me-time.

“I was initially surprised by how peaceful and calm and unchaotic it is compared to hospital life.

“It’s all about being a home from home.”

Former nurse Liz Leigh, 47, was appointed head of care at Helen House four months ago.

She said: “My favourite part of working here is the children, they are inspirational.

“You would not be in the right place if you didn’t find it difficult sometimes. If it was routine, it would not be right.

“The atmosphere varies here but it is usually quite noisy which I think shocks people.

“It can be quite boisterous – that’s children for you.

“It is a positive place.”