Farleigh staff retrained to cope with COVID-19 impact - Debbie's story
"It's emotionally draining, but it's incredibly rewarding. They need our help and support, particularly in these hard times"
During the COVID-19 outbreak our non-clinical staff are being retrained and are working alongside our experienced nurses to support the 667 patients that we know are coming to the end of their life in the mid Essex community.
Fundraising manager, Debbie De Boltz, has worked at Farleigh for 15 years and usually spends her days encouraging the community to raise money for Farleigh, from head shaves and leg waxes to corporate sponsorship and promoting legacies. Now she's been retrained and redeployed as a Hospice at Home Health Care Assistant.
Alongside her mentor, Adrian, a Farleigh veteran and former police officer turned nurse, Debbie now helps our patients with personal care, emotional support and comforts them during this challenging time. "It's emotionally draining, but it's incredibly rewarding. They need our help and support, particularly in these hard times" said Debbie when we caught up with her out in the community.
Watch Debbie's video below to find out why she volunteered to work with our Hospice at Home team and what it's like being redeployed into the community to help support our nursing staff and care for those that need us most.
A huge thank you to all staff that have taken on this role!