“Hi, my name is Katie Mohun and I am the new Healthcare Assistant on the Children’s team.
“I previously worked as a Healthcare Assistant within the Adult Team at Rennie Grove Hospice at Home for six years so have a lot of experience in the organisation.
“I joined in 2011 on the overnight team. The overnight team are a responsive service, providing over the phone advice and visiting patients in their own homes if required. Our visits were for symptom management and families were often in a vulnerable state in the middle of the night when other services are not so readily available. Working on the night team gave me the biggest insight in to what Hospice at Home care is. This role in particular made me want to focus my career on Hospice at Home care.
A new opportunity
“An opportunity to work day shifts with the South Bucks Team arose and I decided to change. The South Bucks team did not have a Healthcare Assistant before I started. When I joined the team, a lot of the nurses were unsure how this role would fit within the team. When I left, three years later, they said they didn’t know how they would manage without Healthcare Assistants.
“During my time in the South Bucks Team, they employed another Healthcare Assistant to work together with me. My day shifts were generally more planned visits to patients and their families at home. It is how I learned the value of respite sits, allowing patients main carers to have a break knowing that their loved one was being cared for by a Hospice at Home Healthcare Assistant.
“This has now led me to my new role in the Children’s Team as a Healthcare Assistant. This is a new role for the team, they also did not have a healthcare assistant before me. My days have planned respite/play visits with children.
“The children we support can have complex care needs so knowing I have a team of knowledgeable nurses I can always contact is vital. I am really enjoying this new role and getting to know the children and their families we support.
“We could’t offer this fantastic service to parents – free of charge – without the support of our amazing community. Please, if you can, consider donating a small amount today. Thank you.”