Huge congratulations to Brenda, who has been awarded a #Cheshire #WomanoftheYear #LifetimeAchievement #Award for her professional achievements! Brenda has worked at #wirralhospice for more than 34 years! #hospicehero #thankyou #congratulations #wirral

Huge congratulations to Brenda, who has been awarded a Cheshire Woman of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award for her professional achievements! What a lovely way for her to be thanked for her many years of dedicated service to the Wirral community.

You can read more below about how Brenda started her career with Wirral Hospice St John’s almost 34 years ago!

Original posted edited 19.04.18

For Hospice Care Week, we thought it would be nice to share some stories of some of our staff, volunteers, patients and special friends. We’re delighted to share more about this lovely lady, Brenda Taylor, who has been part of Wirral Hospice St John’s for more than 34 years!

Meet Brenda Taylor:
I have lived on the Wirral all my life – I was brought up in Bromborough, went to school in Bromborough and I live in Eastham so I have always been local. I am married with two grown-up children; my son is in the Royal Navy and lives in Plymouth and my daughter and granddaughter live locally.

How long has Wirral Hospice been a part of your life?
A long, long time! I was 29 years old when I started at Wirral Hospice and I can tell you that it was the first of March 1984, in the morning, and it was a Thursday!!

I was the first and only Auxiliary Nurse to work a day shift on the Ward and this was my role for approximately 24 years. Also during this time I worked in the Outpatients clinic one day a week. For the last ten years I have worked across the Outpatients and Day Therapy units, and more recently co-ordinating Outpatients clinics, which is now my main role.

What are your Hospice Highlights?
Seeing the hospice grow from a small, single building (previously the old Clatterbridge children’s ward) to a larger purpose built Inpatient Ward, and then developing further to provide an Outpatient department has been a real highlight and I’m proud to have been a part of this growth.

Also for me personally, to support and assist patients who have been on such a long journey really is an honour, and a privilege to be able to assist patients and their families.

What does hospice care mean to you?
Treating people with compassion and dignity on a daily basis is big part of the hospice message and I see evidence of this every day here at Wirral Hospice St John’s. The relationships I have built with fellow staff and volunteers that I work alongside make them feel almost like family. After more than 33 years, and much development, Wirral Hospice often feels like my second home!

My wish for the future is that Wirral Hospice will continue to move forward providing even more quality care for the people of Wirral.

To find out more about our hospice care, please visit www.wirralhospice.org or call 0151 334 2778.