Day in the life of…Clint Leach, Health Care Assistant at Dove House Hospice!
Hello my name is Clint and I started working at Dove House as a Bank Care Assistant in 2015. I joined the team permanently in 2017, I can’t believe how quickly the time has gone by.
What attracted you to you join the Dove House team? Please share your story of what brought you to the hospice:
I wanted to change career after ailments in my health. A bank care assistant post a Dove House was advertised and I went for it. It made me realise this is where I need to be, the support I could give to our patients and their relatives is amazing. At Dove House, we go above and beyond giving individual care, I feel like I am in the right job and find I have a good connection with patients, their loved ones and my Dove House family. It just felt right for me, I've never loved a job as much as I do now - love coming to work and feel I have found my vocation in life.
What was the first thing that struck you about Dove House when you came for the first time? Is that the same now or has it changed over the years? If so, why?
How person centred and individualised the care we all give to patients and the whole family, we take our time to give the best quality care, really getting to know our patients. It’s the small things we do that can have a massively positive impact at these difficult times.
What do you feel makes Dove House special?
Everything from nurses, care assistants, kitchen staff, admin, cleaners and especially the family support team, it's like a big supportive family, but at work.
What do you look forward to each day?
Coming to work helping patients, meeting new patients and making those little differences we all make day to day without even realising.
What are the amazing moments that stand out for you in your day that make a difference to you, patients and your team?
It is all little individual thing that we do for to make a difference which makes patients feel comfortable with the situation they are in.
What does a typical day look like for you?
I don’t really have a typical day as every day can be totally different depending on complexity of the patients' needs. We get to know patients and build a rapport so that we know how they like to be cared for. I talk to the patients if they are worried or concerned about anything. Each day is different because every patient’s care needs are different.
What do you think are the biggest achievements you have accomplished while working at Dove House?
My biggest achievement is how much my confidence has grown, it was extremely low when I started but now is much better.
Working at a hospice can have its emotional times when days/patients are harder than others. What gets you through these?
Reflecting and realising that we have done the best we can, I do have a little cry sometimes as you cannot help to get attached as we all care, it is good to get the emotions out and reflect on how we did. Caring for end of life patients is a hard job, but it is also privilege.
What are your hopes for your future at Dove House?
To be able to continue giving the best care to all the patients I meet, that is individual to them.