Clare Walker joined Blythe House Hospicecare and Helen’s Trust as clinical services manager in July 2022, following in the footsteps of Shane O’Reilly, who moved to the hospice CEO role, following Janet Dunphy’s retirement.
Clare, from Yorkshire, explains more about her background and the things she has enjoyed most during her first few months at Blythe House and Helen’s Trust.
‘I have been in the NHS for over 20 years, working in acute, primary and community care as well as working for NHS England and in local health commissioning. I started as a bereavement advisor at a local hospital. Following several years of training where I gained my postgraduate diploma in Primary Care Mental Health, at the University of York, alongside working as a counsellor/therapist, I moved to Suffolk to manage a countywide primary care mental health service.
‘I was unfortunately made redundant following a merger but managed to get a post with Macmillan Cancer Support where I continued my work developing holistic care and support; this time for patients who were in remission from cancer. Following a move back up to Yorkshire, I worked at the Clinical Commissioning Group in Derbyshire for seven years where I commissioned community and end of life services, and latterly I managed the transition of Glossop health commissioning from Greater Manchester into Derbyshire. Because of this role, I was aware of the excellent services and support that Blythe House and Helen’s Trust offered.
‘When I saw the job advert for clinical services manager at the hospice, I knew I had to apply. Having worked closely with Janet [Dunphy, previous CEO, now retired] and Shane [O’Reilly, CEO and former clinical services manager], in the past, I was very aware of, and inspired by, the ethos of Blythe House and Helen’s Trust. Staff spoke very highly of the Hospice and how much they enjoyed being part of it; the compassion shown by all the staff was very evident and the feedback from people using the various services spoke for itself. Who wouldn’t want to work for an organisation that clearly put patients and their families at the very heart of its services?
‘My role as clinical services manager is to provide leadership and senior operational management for all the clinical services that the hospice offers, as well as leading on the development of clinical services to meet our new five-year strategy. My focus is therefore on delivering high-quality care to people who use our services, and making sure that we recruit and retain the highest calibre of people to deliver this care.
‘Blythe House and Helen’s Trust delivers support across North Derbyshire which includes the High Peak, Derbyshire Dales and North East Derbyshire, so I also work in partnership with other organisations as part of the Derbyshire-wide end of life strategy and the High Peak Place Alliance. This means that I can be part of a wider compassionate community, grow a workforce that is informed and skilled, and develop services that meet the needs of local people at the end of their life.
‘In my first few weeks here at the hospice, I have been meeting staff across all parts of the hospice. Teams don’t work in silos here, and it is evident how well the clinical, volunteering, fundraising and retail teams work together. However, there are always things we can do better so I have been talking to colleagues about what they do, how they do it and what they feel we can do to improve the care we provide. My colleagues have a wealth of knowledge and skills so I’m looking forward to tapping into this and working with them and those that use our services to develop our clinical workforce and service offers further.
‘Our new five-year clinical strategy is taking shape and I want to ensure that more people know about the work that Blythe House and Helen’s Trust does, and the people it supports. We don’t just support those who are right at the end of their life but also those who may have just been diagnosed with a life-limiting illness so I’m looking forward to supporting the clinical teams and our non-clinical colleagues in their endeavours to reach more people as early as possible.
‘In my personal life, I am married to Richard and we have two grown up children and a 13-year-old Staffordshire Bull Terrier, called Ted. In my spare time, I enjoy the outdoors for both exercise and relaxation. I belong to a woman’s group where we go walking, do boot camp, and I can occasionally be found running with them when I am injury free! I’m also a keen gardener and we’ve recently got interested in growing veggies and salads.’
