St Peter's Hospice

Deb, one of our Senior Registered Nurses, explains to us why it's a privilege to work on the Unit.

"I've worked at St Peter's Hospice for 11 years, having previously worked at Frenchay Hospital. I've worked as a palliative care nurse for 16 years now. One of the things I like most about working here is that I can do my job properly. Our staff to patient ratios are good and our single rooms provide respect and privacy for our patients.

"We really make a difference to our patients' quality of life through symptom management and help them make the most of the time they've got left.

"The Hospice is a lovely environment. It's clean, bright and has a nice ambience. It's a happy place, it's not doom and gloom. We all work as a team, not just within the Inpatient Unit, but with the multi-disciplinary teams across the Hospice who provide services such as social work, physio and counselling.

"My shifts can be varied, but always start with a handover from the night staff to the day staff. Sometimes I'm in charge of the Inpatient Unit. This involves allocating patient to staff ratios, dealing with admissions, doing the ward round with the doctors, and anything else that has happened overnight that is urgent and needs dealing with.

"I make sure the staff on the unit are supported, carry out a drug count and manage the reception handover. I'm the liaison point, and make sure the whole shift is running well. Any issues come to me.

"My priority is our patients and making sure they are comfortable, and their symptoms are managed. I find out from the patient what they want and need, and discuss when they need personal care help. I make sure that any medical needs are also attended to such as doing medication rounds, dressings, blood tests and drains and touch base with the doctors when needed. My shifts go quickly, and no two are the same.

"What I love is that we can go above and beyond for our patients. We can do extra things for them and can really take into account how they want to be cared for. We can also arrange special times for our patients and their families. We have organised cinema days with popcorn in our family rooms, sleepovers for children to stay over, animals coming into visit and even weddings. We pull out all the stops to make memories for patients and their friends and families.

"I feel privileged to work here, and to be part of the journey with the patient and their family. When I've seen a patient and their family through from admission to death, I feel I've done a good job of facilitating the end of their life and being there for them. The death will be remembered by the family forever, so we want it to be remembered as the best death it could have been."