My name is Kathy, and I’m a Lead Nurse for the Hospice In Your Home service. I’ve been at Nottinghamshire Hospice for just over 6 months, but I’ve been working alongside the Hospice for much longer.

Moving from the NHS to the Hospice

As a Community Nurse in the NHS, obviously the visits to patients were quick: you’re in, you’re out. I used to visit some patients and there’d be Hospice staff there. They always seemed so happy, dedicated and professional. And I used to say “One day I’m coming to work with you” … and here I am. I work with those same people now.

Happy, positive and supportive

What I love about this place is that it’s a completely different environment to a “job.” People are happy to see you and let you in to their homes. That positivity stays with you and is shared between everyone you work with, whether that’s patients and families or staff and volunteers. We’re all here to make each other more comfortable and feel supported.

Of course, it can sometimes be hard having to triage patients over the phone and dealing with vulnerable people, but that’s part of being a nurse. We’re all here for a purpose so there’s a good understanding between staff and we try to make it a supportive environment for each other.

Bringing comfort

We’re all trying to bring comfort to patients and families and that definitely carries over to the people we work with as well. It can be hard out there, so it’s nice to be able to come in and find that people are smiling and laughing. It’s a completely different environment; it’s a real pleasure to do.

We’re currently recruiting for a variety of roles as part of the Hospice In Your Home service. See our vacancies page for more details