Cancer in a Cold Climate
Page 6
Clifford T. Reid
Athy
Co. Kildare
‘A true gem in today’s crazy healthcare system’
I was a patient of Saint Luke’s Hospital from November 2006 to January 2007 and again from Feb 2008 to end of June 2008. For the most part I attended as an outpatient five days per week, having chemotherapy once a week and radiotherapy 5 days per week.
Saint Luke’s Hospital is the only specialised cancer hospital in Ireland and for more than 50 years has been providing world class radiotherapy and other oncology services to over 3 million people countrywide.
The staff at Saint Luke’s stand apart from staff in any other hospital I have attended. Where else would the nurses notice that it was your birthday and get a card and gift for you. That’s exactly what happened on my 40th birthday. The radiotherapy nurses on Machine 15A had a card and gift waiting for me when I finished treatment that day.
I am amazed when I visit the hospital now (as a visitor not a patient!) that the staff still remembers my name and not just my name but my husband’s name, my sister’s name etc. Nurses in other bigger general hospitals do not have the time to add the same personal touch. They are literally run off their feet and are working in chaotic conditions.
I would now like to take you on a brief virtual tour of St Luke’s and hopefully illustrate, if I can, why this hospital means so much to me.
On entering the Hospital (after first availing of the ample free parking) just past the shop on the left you have the Phlebotomy Department where Liz and the team will never keep you waiting long for your blood tests. Close by, after the patient sitting room and just behind the Highfield Cafe is the Activity Centre where patients can participate in painting, music, pottery or even try their hand at flower arranging.
Next a quick visit to the Day Ward to see Sandra and her team. This is where patients receive chemotherapy in spacious and relaxing surroundings. Before entering the Day Ward I should have taken a detour via the staff restaurant where staff, visitors and patients alike can sample tasty dishes unlike other hospital food that I have experienced. There is also another patient sitting room in this area, beautifully furnished and fully equipped with TV and reading area with plenty of books. Just past the Chapel is the Clinical Trials Resource Unit and St. Luke’s Institute of Cancer Research (which was established in 1992 to undertake research in the prevention, treatment, cure and care of cancer).
A tour of the Hospital would not be complete without stopping by the Complimentary Therapy Department which offers patients holistic services including massage, reflexology and aromatherapy in a very safe and comfortable environment. All that on the inside of the hospital!
Now I want to take you to the outside.
Saint Luke’s Hospital stands on circa 18 acres of landscaped gardens. Here you will find several outdoor seating areas, extensive well maintained flower beds, a pitch and putt area, a waterfall, gazebos, beech trees, and numerous scenic pathways through the grounds past the Pathology Laboratory (where its Blood Transfusion Department recently attained ISO Standard 15189 Accreditation for Medical Laboratories) leading to Oaklands Lodge.
Oaklands Lodge provides accommodation for patients from every county in Ireland who attend Saint Luke’s on a daily basis for radiotherapy but are too far from their home to make the journey every day. It consists of 49 ensuite rooms all equipped with fridge and tea making facilities. These are twin bedded rooms meaning that a patient can have a friend or relative staying with them if they so wish. There is also a large dining area where patients have their meals, play cards, bingo or just socialise among themselves. Oaklands Lodge has been described by many as a “home from home”.
I am one of the lucky ones who has survived cancer twice. I am fully convinced that my recovery was aided by the safe, friendly and holistic care as well as the medical treatment I received at Saint Luke’s. I was always treated with the utmost respect, understanding and kindness. Anybody can get cancer and one of the great things about Saint Luke’s hospital is that everybody is in the same boat regardless of age, race, gender or profession.
I don’t know what the future holds for this wonderful Centre of Excellence or indeed where this book is going to end up but I think it is only fitting that that I now mention some of the wonderful nurses that helped save my life. I will never forget Mary Ellen, the gynaecology nurse, who didn’t get to put the milk on her cereal one morning because I was in urgent need of her help. I have very fond memories of Margaret, the complimentary therapist, who often gave me a gentle foot massage. She always knew when I was in need. I didn’t have to look for her, she came and found me. I remember Tina, the radiotherapy nurse from machine 15A taking time out of her busy schedule one day to show me the patient sitting room I mentioned earlier where I could rest if I wasn’t able to go home immediately after treatment. Sandra, Grace, Dolores, Barbara, Agnes, Patricia and the rest of the team in the Day Ward will always stick out in my mind for their care and professionalism.
What started as an article on St Luke’s has ended up being an acknowledgement to the wonderful staff there. This is typical of what happens when one starts to think about Saint Luke’s. A wonderful place with wonderful caring staff. A true gem in today’s crazy healthcare system. How can that ever be duplicated elsewhere?
Mary Reynolds
Maynooth
Co Kildare
‘The lovely grounds–– are a type of therapy on their own and won’t be available at St James’s or at Beaumont. Both concrete jungles!’
I had treatment in 2006 for prostate cancer and during that time I met Joe Guilfoyle and together with many others we discussed how, and what could be done to retain St Luke’s and the wonderful service it provided.
My recollection of St Luke’s is friendly staff, medical and nursing, and ward attendants, all providing the kind of treatment and support needed.
On my visit for assessment to outpatients I always remember to go and visit the staff. They remember me and greet me in that special way they have. St Luke’s give patients the room and space to move around with other patients in the lovely grounds which are a type of therapy on their own and won’t be available at James’s or at Beaumont. Both concrete jungles!
I can remember every single day at St Luke’s, the names of all the staff on duty at A ward, my walks in the gardens, talking with others about our problems, our hopes and fears and how we will face things in the future, picking chestnuts for my grand children enjoying walks out on the main road.
But most of all planning with Joe and others for the retention of this fine hospital with its wonderful environment, gardens, flowers, trees. It must not be allowed to decay.
The memory today is as bright as the days from August 23 to October 2006.
John Carroll
Dundalk
Co Louth
‘St Luke’s is so special in so many ways’
What a shame about the closure of St Luke’s, Rathgar.
Even though the cancer services plan is to transfer to centres of excellence by 2014 it could never ever meet the personal touch of all the staff at St Luke’s. It is like home from home and they support family members.
My wife and daughter were facilitated at the lodge, as it would not be possible for them to stay in a hotel due to financial problems.
Please please think again about the switch, and think of all the people with cancer. St Luke’s is so special in so many ways.
Brendan Kennedy
Clara
Co Offaly
‘A loss of serenity’
I worked as a nurse in St. Luke’s Hospital in the late 60s. It was a very good experience and has enriched my life tremendously. St. Luke’s was a place of excellence and epitomised calmness and comfort for so many people having treatment for cancer. The efficiency of all staff and management in their duties and far beyond over the last 54 years has created this place of serenity. The surrounding grounds nestled in rural Rathgar added to the calm a
tmosphere. No panic or chaos, patients could amble the grounds, take a rest and chat with other patients and staff. It was a wonderful place to recover.
By taking this facility away from our patients and leaving them to the unknown is a shame. I am devasted at Mary Harney’s decision to close St. Luke’s. I cannot understand her decision to remove such a well managed and much needed resource that worked so efficiently for patients and staff.
During my time in St. Luke’s, patient care was the priority. Sadly Mary Harney does not care.
As the staff have such good work surroundings they are relaxed and can give the best care to patents. At the chaotic campus that is James’s, staff will be stressed like patients are when they first arrive. This decision has to be changed.
Abina Valentine
Naas
Co Kildare
‘I was struck by the amount of white feathers on the grass. I was always told that these were a sign of angels… in my estimation, those feathers symbolised the presence of angels both inside and outside the hospital, alive and passed on.’
Our son David was diagnosed with a brain tumour in 2007, and upon completing surgery, he was sent to St Luke’s for 6 weeks of radiation. He and I will never forget the kindness shown by the staff and the wonderful atmosphere that was in abundance in the hospital.
When I say hospital, I should say hotel, because that’s what it seemed more like to me. When you hear the word cancer hospital, your heart fills with dread, and when you have to bring a child there, you must hide the fears. The first time I drove through the gates, I was immediately touched by the serenity and beauty of the grounds. The automatic glass doors were welcoming, and not at all hospital like. I did not associate the word cancer with this hospital. I just felt at ease and very welcome. David was amazed to see the beautiful grounds and the pitch and putt course, not to mention the swinging seat and the little cafe.
The staff were totally brilliant, and there was no mention of schedule or timekeeping. David was given a chart, handmade by the nursing staff, and rolls and rolls of stickers that he could stick on each day to count down his sessions. The nurses were so nice and understanding, and nothing was too much trouble. David was naturally terrified, particularly as he had to have his head in a mask, screwed down to the machine, in order to have his treatment each day. Naturally, I was not allowed into the treatment room with him, but the nurses let me come into their office, so I could talk over a microphone to him, and reassure him throughout the sessions. This made a huge difference to him, as he was only 7 years of age.
Each day we would finish, and go to the cafe. Then we would walk through the beautiful grounds, and stop off for a game of pitch and putt. We also often met up with another little boy called Luke, who we had met in Our Ladies Hospital, and who was also undergoing treatment. We met so many people undergoing treatment in the hospital, who were so kind to David. There was the man from Portmarnock, who brought him golf sticks, the lady called Imelda, who was fascinated by David’s attitude to his illness. There were the many patients who chatted to us every day, either in the hospital or on the taxi journeys in and out, and who all gave him gifts and blessings. It is just impossible for anybody who didn’t spend time there, to understand the impact the place has on people dealing with serious illnesses. I met people who spent time in the lodge, and availed on the therapeutic sessions on offer, which after all, could be considered a vital part in the healing process.
When it came to the end of David’s treatment at the hospital, I couldn’t believe it when the nurses handed him a big present that they had bought out of their own money. I was truly touched by their kindness in every way. I should have mentioned earlier, that during our walks through the beautiful grounds each day, I was struck by the amount of white feathers on the grass. I was always told that these were a sign of angels. The cynics might disagree, but in my estimation, those feathers symbolised the presence of angels both inside and outside the hospital, alive and passed on. The whole experience was made pleasant and dignified. The fears were taken away from the first day, and I will never ever forget the kindness. I just hope that the government come to their senses before it is too late, and that they listen to the people who know what’s best, that is the patients and their families. Maybe if they could spend a few days there they would come to realise.
Martina and David Doyle
Artane
Dublin 5
And on Facebook they wrote -
Stephen B
“The government is a cancer”
Chris
“If Croke Park was being closed down, there would be an uproar that would resonate, from here to the west coast of America and continue on to the Australian outback. Yet they expect people to sit back and accept the closure of this wonderful hospital. If some of the people who will be wielding the pen that writes it off, had cause to avail of the fantastic care, housed within its walls they would give pause…”
Annette
“I’m starting chemo on Monday. I’m in hosp now. Will be getting moved to St. Luke’s Monday for the treatment. Hope it goes well for me. I’m only 25. Have two little girls. Hope makes me better for them.”
Nuala
“One of the best cancer hospitals in Ireland. What about this statement does the government not understand! It’s not rocket science, Please say “YES minister” to saving St. Luke’s Hospital”
Bee
“Brian Cowen have you ever visited St. Luke’s. I dare you to go there, meet the staff and patients and see first hand what happens there. Have a heart. Get our priorities straight and not yours, and for once do the right thing. “
Patricia
“With the best will in the world, a big concrete jungle hospital, like St. James or others could never achieve the special and wonderful peace that surrounds you in St Luke’s. You don’t have to walk through miles of corridor to find the chapel area or the area where you can listen to others share experiences/ concerns with a professional in attendance”
Una
“The government should listen to the patients and relatives and consider how vital St. Luke’s is to all. Please keep St. Luke’s open, our government should not be heartless by ignoring this plea as they have ignored pleas of the people since they governed”
Dave
“It is an abject and utter disgrace that the incompetents in Leinster House should bail out filthy rich bankers, and keep property developers happy rather than sustaining essential services”
Peter
“St. Luke’s cannot be closed the staff are amazing and dedicated. Let Mary Harney spend a day there to see the work that gets done with limited resources. The comfort families get knowing there, knowing their loved one is being treated with kindness and dignity you won’t get that care in larger hospitals like James’ or Beaumont.”
Marion
“My Dad is attending this hospital a long time, he has had cancer twice and they saved his life both times. The docs and nurses and all the staff are so caring. You don’t get treated so well in any other hospital. It would be a sin to close it down”
Mai
“St James Hospital = STRESS”
Pauline
“Lots of Inishowen people have been and continue to be treated there – keep it open!”
Tom
“People who want to close places like this need to pray they never need to use them. My son has been in St Luke’s and we found it a great place. My son who is living out his last days now would not have gone back to Beaumont and he felt in was too crowded and busy for cancer patients.
Graham
“My dad simply would not be here today if it weren’t for the care given to him by the staff of St. Luke’s. I was only 12 at the time but I still remember the nurses looking after not only my Dad but also caring for all of my family. St. Luke’s carries with it a sense of healing. If I found out I had cancer tomorrow knowing I was going to St. Luke’s would give me some comfort.”
Fergus
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“My father is alive thanks to this great place!”
Ed
“One of my best mates died here 10 years ago from the big C at 28, the staff were just unreal so kind, thoughtful. They see this everyday, yet treat you in a very personal manner, the professional manner runs alongside the kind caring manner, don’t take that away from the patients, the families and friends”
Geraldine
“My father was being treated for cancer in St Luke’s while I had a brother at home dying at the age of 32, the love and care we got as a family while trying to cope with the shock of it all was second to none.
Even now 16 years later I cannot tell you how it helped us. The help they gave my Dad helped him live 12 years.
Beth
“St Luke’s hospital simply can’t close.