P6 WELLBEING CENTRE’S NEW MEN’S DEN DUE TO OPEN THIS SUMMER!
Issue No.8
P8 A DAY IN THE LIFE OF DR STEVEN MOLYNEUX
Spring 2022
The Raphaelite
KAREN FALL RETIRES AFTER 20 YEARS WITH US! As I now approach my retirement, I naturally look back and reflect on my career. The majority of which has been spent working in the community – first as a District Nurse, then with Intermediate Care before becoming a Palliative Care Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) at St Raphael’s Hospice. I can’t help but smile thinking back to the beginning of my career, as I never really pictured myself working in palliative care at the start. Twenty years ago, I came across an advert by St Raphael’s Hospice who were recruiting nurses at the time. I had heard from my mentor that it was a great place to work, so I decided to give it a go. The rest is history! I quickly learnt over my first few days that St Raphael’s Hospice was a special place. It is dedicated to exceptional quality of life and the precious time that we have got left. Some days can feel exceptionally difficult but the energy within our ward and across our community is remarkable. It’s supportive, kind and uplifting.
Karen Fall in her early years as a Trainee Nurse
Community nursing enables us to build a relationship with our patients. We are guests in their home, where we gain a unique insight into their life and who they are as individuals. It is a privilege. The people I have met along the way have truly impacted my life. My role as a Community CNS has evolved over time. The team at St Raphael’s has grown bigger and has welcomed additional healthcare professionals. It is a multidisciplinary team to ensure an exceptional level of specialist palliative care. We have been able to become even more responsive with acute timings. At the risk of giving away my youthful age, the early days involved controlled piles of paper-copy referrals! The role feels more complex today, however patients and their families have always remained at the very centre of what we do. I wouldn’t be able to look back on my career without highlighting the significance that the Covid-19 pandemic has had over the recent years. Its impact on the way we delivered our service was momentous, as well as the unbelievable teamwork within our organisation that was brought to the fore. The Community Team are often the first point of contact that the public has with our Hospice. We never thought we could find ourselves in a situation that would hinder face-to-face contact with our patients. The team is well placed to help patients and their families through these anxieties. Everyone across St Raphael’s joined forces rapidly to ensure the very best service to our patients, adapting and pushing ourselves to ensure excellence, no matter the climate. May 9th-22nd
IT’S TIME FOR MERTON & SUTTON TO PARTY!
P3
S I G N U P TO H O S T YO U R O W N S T R E T PART Y !
On a personal level, we were seeing parents within our team juggling their roles as healthcare professionals during a pandemic, while home-schooling their children along with concerns of the safety of their loved ones at home. Our weekly yoga and mindfulness sessions were enormously beneficial to our mental wellbeing over this time. There has always been a strong sense of teamwork at St Raphael’s. Everyone supports one another. It has been a privilege to work with, and visit, so many amazing people over the past two decades with St Raphael’s. It’s a unique organisation, offering a specialist service to the community when they need it most. It has been an honour to work with, and support, each and every family who have let us into their homes and lives during such difficult times. I know that I will miss working in palliative care. I am, and will always be, very proud to tell people that I have worked at St Raphael’s Hospice.y
14th Ma
Dearest Karen, we wish you a wonderful, well-deserved retirement from the St Raphael’s family!
Hit the sky for our nurses
TakePART part IN in ST St RAPHAEL’S Raphael’s Skydive TAKE SKYDIVEDay DAY
Secure the future of your loved ones now!
P8
MAKE YOUR WILL FORTNIGHT Local solicitors are offering their will-writing expertise
Make Your Will Fortnight 2022 in exchange for a donation to your local hospice.
P12
S KY D I V E F O R O U R N U R S E S O N 14 MAY !
www.straphaels.org.uk/skydiveday22 020 8254 2450
Get your affairs in order. Make or update your Will this May.
www.straphaels.org.uk
Registered Charity No 1182636
For the list of participating solicitors, please contact us on: 020 8254 2450; www.straphaels.org.uk/makeyourwill22 Untitled-1.indd 1
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