Hi, I’m Kim and this year I joined the Hospice team as the Ward Manager on the Inpatient Unit. Before starting this role, I spent my nursing career working in acute medicine, often a fast-paced and busy area of healthcare.
In 2013, my grandma was admitted to Overgate Hospice and I was amazed by the care she received. She celebrated her birthday during her stay and I’ll never forget the kitchen team baking a birthday cake and everyone singing happy birthday to her.
My close friend Steph passed away in September last year following a battle with breast cancer, the day after, I saw the job advert for a new Ward Manager at Overgate. I felt sure this was a sign from Steph and I applied for the job. I then attended a recruitment day at the Hospice and was able to chat to the team and get a real feel for it – I fell in love with the place.
I’ve now been here for four months and what a four months they have been! The whole team are amazing, I have never worked with such kind, welcoming and supportive people and this is reflected in the care they provide. I had always felt that acute medicine was where I was meant to be but from the minute I started at Overgate, I now know that I am meant to be a palliative care nurse – enabling a person to have a dignified death and being with them at the end is the most humbling experience.
Together with the whole clinical team, I have been working on how we can improve the experience of our patients and those closest to them. We know the care we provide is exceptional, but we also know that we must continually strive for improvement. In the last few weeks, we changed the way we work on the Inpatient Unit so that each patient is assigned a specific nurse on each shift, rather than all nurses caring for all patients. This means much better continuity of care for the patient and a more personal approach, but it also makes it easier for the family to understand and be kept up to date with the care of their loved one.
I am so proud to be a part of this incredible team. I always knew Overgate was the heart of Calderdale but now I truly understand why.
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