As a child, hospice boss used to think it was a ‘scary’ place

Rachel Hucknall has not yet completed a year as chief executive at Nottinghamshire Hospice. However it has not been short of challenges. The Post spoke to her about the touching story behind her reason for taking the job. JOEL MOORE reports

“I USED to get the bus past here all the time. I thought it would be a really sombre place,” admits Rachel Hucknall.

“I used to look in and think it looked so scary behind that wall”, she says, recalling her childhood thoughts.

That “scary” place was Nottinghamshire Hospice and now she is its CEO.

So, what changed? “I remember my grandma saying they were having a summer fair, and I thought it would be awful,” she continues.

“But I came and had a really good time, so that really changed my opinion of what a hospice is.”

Behind her affection for the hospice is an even more touching story, one that eventually led to her decision to take the job.

Rachel’s mother-in-law, Anne, received care from the hospice at the end of her life as she battled pancreatic cancer.

“The team here looked after her and it was absolutely exceptional,” she recalls. “We used to have people come in the daytime to help with her personal care and in the evening as well to sit and make sure she was out of pain. It meant that the rest of us could sleep.

“I particularly remember one night she was starting to get uncomfortable and we were a bit concerned. And then the hospice nurses walked up the path and the security light came on and lit them up like angels. It was just incredible.

“The chief executive job came up and three people sent it to me saying ‘this is you down to a tee, this is your perfect job’ so I applied and here I am.”

Rachel has a background in healthcare, working as a podiatrist in the NHS before moving to Boots, where she ran 56 clinics across the UK.

She later went on to manage the diagnostic imaging and clinical neurophysiology unit and then the renal, transplant, diabetes and cardiac surgery and vascular surgery departments at Nottingham University Hospitals.

More recent work saw Rachel responsible for sending PPE to farflung locations such as Romania and the Amazon rain forest.

So, what’s the best part of this job? “It’s all about knowing that we give high-quality support and care to the patients and families as they go through a very difficult period of their lives. I’m incredibly proud to work here.

“We’ve got some really skilled and passionate staff who are all here for absolutely the right reason. You can’t beat the laughter of patients. That’s such a great motivator.”

And the hardest? Rachel believes it is the financial element.

“The hardest part for me is securing the income we need for future years,” she says. “We’ve been very lucky with grants from the Government. It’s about knowing that we can secure income for the future.

“It doesn’t keep me awake at night but it’s a large responsibility on my shoulders to make sure that these incredible services that we’ve got continue to operate.

“It’s a big ask for a community to raise £3 million [the amount needed annually to keep services running]. Year on year the people of Nottinghamshire do it but there’s always that slight nervousness, and it’s been such a tough year for everyone.”

But what of young Rachel’s opinions on the hospice? Are they now in a minority? She believes there’s still work to be done on its perception.

“I think people’s general perception is that there’s a ward and inpatients in here, that people come here and it’s a very quiet and sober place.

“That’s something we’re trying to educate and change people’s opinion because it isn’t like that at all. It’s a real hive of activity.”

The hospice nurses walked up the path and the security light came on and lit them up like angels. It was just incredible Rachel Hucknall (pictured)