ROLE
TIME WITH RICHARD HOUSE
Experiencing one to one care really opened my eyes to where I wanted to go next.
What is your favourite thing about working with Richard House?
The families and the children. Just meeting the children and their families, I have a lot more involvement with the families and we work in partnership with them.
What I have also found since working here is that we do a beautiful death for a child and we put memory making at the heart of it. It’s that feeling of knowing that when people go away from here, they have good memories of their child’s life. It’s lovely knowing that we are part of that.
What is your favourite memory?
We had a 10 year-old-child come in with bone cancer in her legs. She couldn’t walk and she had a manual wheelchair. She had no independence, but she was very smart and wanted to be like every other 10 year-old. She was with us for over a year, and she felt restrained by constantly having to use a carer to move her around.
Six months into her being here, she was given a motorised wheel chair. She was whizzing off down the road – so excited! She stopped, turned round and said to the care team “come on you lot” and I just thought- look at that. I didn’t realise how little things like having her own independence would make such a difference.
What do you think is the most underappreciated aspect of your job and nursing?
Getting the children out in the real world is a really difficult task, as a lot of time our children are stuck at home.
We have got to make sure there is all the equipment to keep the child alive and how heavy it is and how much space it takes up. When Parents know we have taken their child on an outing they are so grateful, as they don’t have the car space or strength to do it.
What have you learnt most?
I have learnt that when parents are stressed it is not personal. We work long hours to give the best care possible for our children, and we understand that parents are stressed, tired, worried and in a routine.
It is hard to juggle, sometimes, the emotional wellbeing of parents as well as the medical needs of the child.
Our incredible team are a family
The reason why Richard House is always such a joyful place is down to our amazing team of nurses, fundraisers, volunteers, directors, and anyone who is apart of the Richard House family.
