Maureen L’s story
Many special people work at Severn Hospice – Maureen Lamb is just one of them.
I have been lucky enough to work at Severn Hospice for 13 years, several of them as Manager of the Day Hospices. During that time it has been a privilege to work as a member of a truly dedicated team providing care throughout Shropshire and Mid Wales. Last summer I took on a new role, as Manager of our Hospice in Telford, which began offering 24 hour care on 3 July 2008.
The Hospices in Shrewsbury and Telford are not separate organisations, any more than our Day Hospice in Newtown is. It’s all about giving people greater choice. Sometimes Day Hospice patients simply can’t get to Shrewsbury when a bed is offered. When you’ve got someone who is poorly, you want them as close by as possible if staying at home isn’t an option.
In the run-up to the opening of the first beds at Telford I spent more time at the Shrewsbury site to get back into the rhythms of a 24 hour unit. Without exception everyone at Shrewsbury was so helpful and did everything they could to get the Telford site up and running. It reflects the ethos of the whole organisation. People want to be helpful and supportive, and opening the Telford site was another step for all of us.
Working within the Hospice is a very humbling experience.You realise that it is terribly sad that people need the service, but the sense of teamwork and of everyone being committed to a common aim is palpable. Everyone is working together and believes in the shared goal of providing excellent care for patients and families.
You don’t get a second chance to do it right. We go far beyond simply meeting the physical needs of the patient. What relatives and patients always say about the Hospice is that they feel part of the family. We help them to feel safe, respected and loved. They know they are part of something and that they aren’t alone.
Staff are acutely aware that people are scared of coming to the Hospice and of what it symbolises. Welcoming them and making them feel at ease as quickly as possible is so important. People forget that the Hospice is not just about terminal care. We are about quality of life and sometimes it is about someone being admitted so that we can help them to feel better and then get them home again.
We respect that we have a very precious resource to develop here and are all very aware that we are just the guardians of the Hospice. It belongs to the community. Once again, it comes back to the people. This is a calm, safe place but it is people who bring it to life and make it special.
