Ridgeway students spend the day at St Lukes Hospice

A group of Year 12 and 13 students from Ridgeway School spent the day at St Lukes Hospice in Turnchapel recently.

The 16 to 18 year olds are all studying Health and Social Care and hope to pursue a career in health care.

They spent the day learning about the demands of end of life care and how such an established charity provides care for their patients. The day was organised and run by Sister Sue Horsfall along with other nurses, occupational therapists, members of the crisis team and clinical practitioners.

“This was the first time the Hospice had ever had a school group in and we were delighted that they accepted our request. The students had a very interesting day,” said Danni Johns, lead teacher of Health and Social Care.

“They particularly enjoyed the clinical practical session where they were given the opportunity to train on models for tracheostomies and catheterisations. Sue Jameson and Fiona Hughes also gave the students experience in training for emergency CPR, which gave them the knowledge and the confidence to approach a situation in the future if needed.”

The students also spent some time with occupational therapist (OT), Annie Monks, who explained the role of an OT. They then took part in some practical sessions where they selected pieces of equipment to help someone with everyday tasks.

Cathy Martin, Community Nurse Specialist, hit home the trust of ‘end of life care’ and the demands needed if any of the students decided to pursue a career in this area. She gave a heartfelt appeal to all that “hospices should no longer be seen as a ‘place to die”, but to consider St Luke’s as a place to “keep living the best life in the time that is left”.

She urged the students to be successful in their futures within the health and social care settings and commended them all for considering caring for others as their profession.

“I really enjoyed the day at St Lukes,” said Chelsea Gennard. “Before I went to the hospice, I thought I was going to leave feeling quite sad about the thought of people being in there to die. However, I left feeling relieved because I knew that even though some were in there for the last few days, weeks or months of their life, the staff caring for them try their best to keep them happy and give them the best quality of life possible. The day at St Lukes provided me with an insight into what actually happens at the hospice and I learnt new things such as the fact they are very community based. I also really enjoyed the practical session of the day as it was very interesting. As I want to be a nurse, I think that it has opened my eyes to different areas of nursing.”

Year 12 student Chloe Williams said she had a brilliant day. “It was so inspirational and I am happy I was able to experience life and work within the hospice.”