Oakhaven Hospice is holding three special recruitment open days to help tackle a nurse shortage.
The Hospice, in Lower Pennington Lane, Lymington, urgently needs extra day and night nurses to staff the In-Patient Unit at the heart of its service. A number of staff have retired recently or moved areas.
The informal drop-in style open days, including a tour of the Hospice, will be held on Thursday 5 August 1.00pm – 4.30pm (especially aimed at Registered General Nurses and nursing associates), Tuesday 10th August 1.00pm – 4.30pm and Monday 6 September 10.30am – 2.30pm in the Coates Centre at the Hospice.
Lucy Smith, Director of Patient Services, said: ‘The work of a hospice can be a mystery, even to other healthcare professionals. Open days give us the opportunity to welcome interested nurses and often to surprise.
‘Many who work in the NHS are keen to spend more time with patients and that is exactly what we do. NHS pensions can be transferred. We can show just how rewarding it is to work in palliative care. And we offer beautiful surroundings.
Lucy added: ‘The pandemic has put huge pressures on all aspects of healthcare and hospices are no exception. At Oakhaven we expanded our services during lockdown to support the NHS but now we need to fill the gaps in our staffing rota to ensure that we can continue to provide the end-of-life care that our patients and their families deserve.’
Jenny Butler, Ward Manager at the Hospice, said: ‘Open days are a fantastic way for nurses to find out about us and what we do. It’s actually how I joined 17 years ago – Oakhaven did a recruitment day.
‘Many of our nurses stay with us for a long time, so this is a rare opportunity to join a special team providing care that is hugely valued by patients and relatives.’
Oakhaven Hospice, which serves most of the New Forest including Totton and the Waterside, employs over 20 nurses along with doctors and other specialist staff. The Hospice also supports patients and their families in their own homes and provides a range of wellbeing and complementary therapy support.
