As we mark the one-year anniversary of the first confirmed cases of coronavirus in Redbridge, we spoke to the lead nurses at Haven House Children's Hospice about how passionate they are for their work - despite the challenges posed by the pandemic.

When children's wards in hospitals started to close, to free up beds for more coronavirus patients, the Woodford Green-based hospice was suddenly in a position where it needed to take in children with life-challenging and life-threatening conditions well before they would normally come to them.

The care the team gives to children and their families can range from as little as a few days to years of support, and crucially, allowing families to take time to grieve.

Ilford Recorder: Despite the challenges faced by the pandemic staff have said it's the most rewarding job they can imagine and are recruiting more good people to join their team to offer one-to-one care to children and their families.Despite the challenges faced by the pandemic staff have said it's the most rewarding job they can imagine and are recruiting more good people to join their team to offer one-to-one care to children and their families. (Image: Haven House)

Director of care Eileen White told the Recorder that, over the past year, they had to completely revise their model of care to enable rapid discharges out of hospital to the hospice involving both end of life cases and step-down care for babies, children and young people transitioning to their homes.

She said: "At the same time with the closure of special schools and home care packages affected by workforce shortages we delivered crisis and emergency respite to families that were under extreme pressure caring for their life-limited children, managing siblings and coping with working from home."

They quickly innovated and offered virtual therapy programmes, while also delivering practical support such as pharmacy and supermarket runs for parents and children who were shielding.

Ilford Recorder: The care the team at the hospice provides ranges from helping families take the time to grieve for the loss of their child to years of support for children with life-challenging and life-threatening conditions.The care the team at the hospice provides ranges from helping families take the time to grieve for the loss of their child to years of support for children with life-challenging and life-threatening conditions. (Image: Haven House)

One senior nurse from Haven House was redeployed to support NHS England.

The remaining staff at the hospice, who are used to dealing with a daily reminder of death outside of a pandemic, were then constantly faced with it in their community.

To prioritise health and wellbeing, they held all-staff virtual team building events, staff yoga and a socially distanced outdoor cinema evening to help relieve the pressure.

Ilford Recorder: Last summer the hospice held a socially distanced outdoor movie screening for staff.Last summer the hospice held a socially distanced outdoor movie screening for staff. (Image: Haven House)

At the same time, the community was very supportive and boosted morale by donating items such as take away meals, hand creams with personalised notes and surgical scrubs.

Eileen applauded her team's resilience and said: "All staff went above and beyond to ensure we continued to respond and deliver person-centred holistic care for the families we support.

"We're not just caring for the child but we are caring for the whole family, really.

"The aim of children's palliative care is to enhance the quality of life and improve outcomes for the children and their families and their siblings and their grandparents, so it's just a whole family approach."

Aisling Kilbane, clinical nurse manager, described the work they do as "a long journey with families", whether that's in-person care or being in the community and providing care and support in the families' homes.

They also needed to be vigilant to ensure there were no Covid outbreaks at the hospice and secured PPE early last year.

The hospice was one of the last facilities to undergo a comprehensive inspection from the CQC before the pandemic hit and was well-positioned from the start.

Despite the challenges, Aisling, who has worked at the hospice for the last 10 years, said it the most rewarding place to work and they are looking for junior nurses to join their team.

She said: "Children's palliative care is a very rewarding career pathway and children's hospice nurses learn advanced skills in symptom management, complex care, as well as end of life and post-bereavement care."

They are currently recruiting for junior nurses and a play specialist and match NHS terms and conditions, while prioritising staff's learning and development.

Eileen added: "Children's hospices really are incredible places to work providing a caring and compassionate environment. Our care team are privileged to spend precious time with babies, children, young people and their families. You are helping a family through the toughest time they will ever face. It’s a real privilege to be part of their journey."

To find out more about the opportunities at Haven House visit www.havenhouse.org.uk/Pages/Category/vacancies or email clinical nurse manager Aisling informally at aislingkilbane@havenhouse.org.uk.