Meet Nicola

This Hospice Care Week, we’re celebrating the people who make St Oswald’s Hospice what it is.

Here, we speak to Nicola, one of our Auxiliary Nurses who works on our Adult Inpatient Unit.

What does your role involve?

My role is very varied and changes every day, which makes it interesting. It involves anything from assisting people with their meals, their care needs, spending time with them, supporting their families, organising events and being part of the nutrition team. It’s supporting patients to have the best possible experience with us that they can.

The Hospice holds special events for patients and their families. What have been your favourites?

I like doing the themed events – we’ve had pizza, Chinese and Hawaiian themes recently. We decorate the Family Room and serve food and drink. For the bigger parties, we invite patients’ families as well. They say it’s so lovely to have a bit of normality. Having that time is really precious to them. If the events make just one family happy or one patient happy, it’s all worth it.

Why is it important to support families too?

Families can feel quite isolated – like they’re the only ones going through this. At home, in their circle of friends, they might be. But here they can talk to other families going through a similar situation and they can get support from them, as well as from us. The events we hold also help put their illness to the back of their mind – even if it’s just for a fraction of time.

What does Hospice Care mean to you?

Treating everybody as an individual and with dignity and respect.

What’s the biggest misconception of Hospice Care?

That the hospice is all doom and gloom. But it’s far from it. The hospice is a happy place. People say it feels like you’ve come into a big hug here – that says it all, really.

Thank you to everyone who has supported Hospice Care Week this year!

Click to find out more about our jobs or volunteering opportunities