OM SS 2023 WEB 070623

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Denise Majors talks about her
time so far with Oakhaven
Denise joined us last year, as Director of Patient Services, and
today she talks about how her first 9 months have gone
I
find it hard to believe that 9
months has gone by since I
started in my role as Director
of Patient Services at Oakhaven.
There have been ongoing
developments during that time
across the services, many of
which have also had new leads
joining since the summer of
2022. This includes a new Ward
Leader for the In-Patient Unit
(IPU), Patient and Family Support
Team Lead and a Wellbeing
Co-ordinator. The enthusiasm
across all the services to
develop and support the
community is palpable and I am
incredibly proud to be part of an
organisation with such dedicated
staff and volunteers.
The recovery from the
pandemic has affected everyone
in different ways but the lifting
of restrictions has allowed us to
open our doors again in many
ways. I felt very privileged to
provide the address at the Light
up a Life Services in Lymington
and Hythe in December,
particularly as these were the
first services for some time. It
felt very special to be part of the
remembrance of so many people
touched by Oakhaven.
In the last newsletter, we
talked about the plans to launch
our Single Point of Access (SPA)
service and to broaden the
reach of Wellbeing Services. I
am pleased to say that the SPA
commenced in June 2022. This
has resulted in the impact we
hoped for, allowing us to respond
to calls and signpost people
more effectively depending on
the help they require. This also
allows us to deploy staff more
rapidly if required to patients
within the community. There
has also been success with the
start of our Wellbeing ‘pop-ups’ in
community centres and cafes in
Lymington, New Milton, Milfordon-Sea
and Hythe and a welcome
gradual increase in the numbers
of people attending the Coates
Centre.
A specific focus for me this
year, is to understand more about
the experience of those people
who use our services and how
we use that feedback to make
plans for the future. I am looking
forward to the year working with
all the teams across Oakhaven
to ensure we continue to deliver
high quality services and ‘make
every moment matter’.
From Little Acorns
The Acorn Project at Oakhaven Hospice has been running
for 13 years now!
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Based on a similar model
from St Christophers
Hospice, the idea is to work
with local schools and colleges
with young people aged from 6
to 20 years coming along to the
hospice, to find out what goes on
and to meet staff, volunteers, and
patients.
One of the games played with
the younger children is wrapping
items of medical equipment,
used in The Inpatient Unit, and
having a Lucky Dip! The pupils
then take it in turns to unwrap a
parcel and try and identify what
the items are used for!
On the final day of the project,
parents are invited along and
watch the students perform some
songs for the entertainment of
the Acorn patients.
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