Healthcare Assistant on the Aston Unit, Denise Robson, shares her experiences of working at the hospital and talks about her pride at being recognised for her voluntary work with local veterans.
I have been working on the Aston Unit at Congleton War Memorial Hospital for eight years. I specialise in dementia care, which is my passion, as I feel that I understand the patients and can have fun with them and treat them a way I would want to be treated.
Before coming to the Aston Unit, I did an array of things. I left school and worked in a clothing factory, and when this shut down, I worked at Airbags in Congleton doing some sewing. At this time, my family were still quite young, so I felt it wasn’t fair that I wasn’t giving them what they needed - so I went to be a dinner lady which I absolutely loved.
After my time spent as a dinner lady I was on the lookout for a new challenge, and I found this when I walked into a nursing home and felt as though I was immediately thrown in at the deep end, immersing me in the world of care
One of the nurses I had met in this role was offered a position at another organisation and asked me if I would go with her. This led me to a new role specialising in dementia, going to different nursing homes where I would work on the floor, while my colleague would advise the management team and support them to prepare for CQC visits.
During this time, I undertook lots of training including dementia care mapping at the University of Bradford and a teaching course in dementia. When my colleague left her job, it didn’t feel the same and I didn’t feel I had the opportunity to use my skills and knowledge. This then led me to taking a job at the War Memorial.
It has been a bit of a whirlwind since, and it was a big change coming into a hospital setting, but I love learning and if I get the chance to do further learning then I jump at the opportunity.
For me, it’s getting a good rapport with the patients and ensuring they don’t have a bad experience in hospital. If I can give them a good experience, be nice to them and treat them well, then they can go away and know how nice it is at the hospital.
It’s a lovely environment and we are one big happy family and if you have anything going on then you get messages checking in on how you are and you don’t feel like you are on your own. If you ever need to talk to someone then the ward manager’s door is always open.
Congleton has always been a great town and you can really tell the people here love and appreciate the hospital - it’s their hospital and they really value it.
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