Meet the people doing incredible work caring for patients at Ashgate Hospice in Chesterfield
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00:00 [Music]
00:06 My name's Stephen and I'm one of the lead physios at Ashgate Hospice.
00:09 Hi, I'm Hannah Botsford. I'm a healthcare assistant.
00:12 I'm Amy. I'm the individual giving officer in the fundraising team at the hospice.
00:16 Hi, I'm Colin, Ashgate Hospice ambassador.
00:19 Hi, my name's Regia Ullar. I'm one of the hospice specialty doctors at Ashgate Hospice.
00:24 My name's Michelle Gross. I'm the retail area manager here at Ashgate.
00:28 Hi, I'm Wendy and I'm the finance manager.
00:31 I think the best thing about working at the hospice is definitely the people.
00:35 And I know it might sound cheesy but everybody just makes it a really special place to be
00:39 because you know that each individual person is so dedicated to providing our care.
00:45 Working in a hospice is the best thing I can imagine doing.
00:50 There's a lot of laughter. I don't mean fun as in making light of what goes on.
00:54 There's a lot of laughter and good humour.
00:56 Working at Ashgate is not really like working at all.
00:59 It's such a nice relaxed easy atmosphere with wonderful people to work with.
01:04 It's amazing. It's the best place I've ever worked.
01:08 They're just amazing people really.
01:09 We've got people from all different walks of life.
01:12 You're never without someone for support.
01:15 The people at Ashgate are compassionate and I think you'll find that right the way up to the chief exec.
01:20 I was having a bad day.
01:22 The first person I saw was Barbara Ann in a meeting and she actually came over and gave me a hug.
01:27 When it comes from the top it cascades all the way through.
01:30 I'm really pleased and proud that I get to do this as my job.
01:34 Very friendly, very supportive. It's like being with one big happy family really.
01:39 There's a lot of people all working together for that same goal and it's not to put money in tills.
01:45 It's to ensure that we're giving the best possible care to our patients and their families.
01:50 When I first started at Ashgate I'd already suffered with depression and anxiety.
01:55 I was worried. What they'd think of me if I was capable of doing my job and capable of looking after vulnerable people.
02:01 They knew that I was capable of that and they gave me the needs to support that.
02:06 I didn't think companies kind of existed that were so caring and compassionate.
02:12 A company that actually wants to make sure that you're happy, that your well-being is thought of.
02:18 How would I be able to be a mum and work full-time in finance?
02:23 I'm looking forward to the future. I can see now as she gets older in school I can be part of that playground mum life.
02:29 And yeah, that means so much to both of us.
02:32 When I became a mum or even from when I became pregnant, it was actually quite a scary and difficult time.
02:39 It was at the start of the first lockdown.
02:41 When I had my little boy I was able to have six months off.
02:44 That was my choice. I wanted to have that time with my son.
02:48 And then I came back and it's been really important to me actually to continue breastfeeding my son.
02:54 He's actually got a medical condition. Me being able to still do that with him is really important to me.
03:00 You can say sometimes that you're having a tough day and people won't judge you for that. That makes such a difference.
03:05 This isn't me just creeping out in front of a camera, but I have always found management to be both supportive
03:12 and I think management are quite positive about looking at that and supporting you if you have ideas
03:17 of supporting you in trying to bottom that out, to try and find how you can bring that to life within your work.
03:24 If I could choose one word to describe what it's like to work at Ashgate, I would choose the word 'personal'
03:30 because I feel like I've got a personal connection with all my colleagues,
03:34 but we also have a really personal connection with all of our supporters as well.
03:39 Compassion, but compassion in a way that they've been flexible, allowing me to still continue my journey
03:45 as developing myself as a clinical educator and also carry on still doing my job here as a specialty doctor.
03:52 I think it would be satisfying. If I could choose two, I'd say deeply satisfying.
03:58 I love my work and I genuinely feel privileged to do what I do.
04:02 So though I'm extraordinarily grateful for being paid, would I do it if I wasn't paid?
04:09 I'd volunteer when I don't need to be paid, if that makes sense.
04:13 Yeah, it's a big part of my life. I really love it.
04:15 For anyone that's interested in working for Ashgate, I would really advise you to apply.
04:21 Fill in the application form, come and join us because we are a great bunch.
04:25 We're a special bunch. Come and join us.
04:28 [Music]