Olivia Rowe, a Healthcare Assistant at Sue Ryder Palliative Care Hub in South Oxfordshire, is sharing her story this International Nurses Day (12 May) to highlight the vital role of palliative care.
Olivia, 25, joined Sue Ryder in 2018 after finishing her A-levels, supporting people with life-limiting conditions and their families. Now she is also training to be a doctor and recently won an award for her undergraduate essay on palliative care.
“I was looking for a meaningful role during my gap year before I started my studies in medicine,” she explains. “I felt it was important to gain a real understanding of what nurses and healthcare assistants do—something I knew would be invaluable in my future career as a doctor.”
She explored several caring roles, but Sue Ryder stood out. “I knew of Sue Ryder as I’d grown up attending some of their charity events, but what really drew me in was the personalised care they offered. I wanted to be in a place where I could take the time to get to know my patients and their families. I knew that at Sue Ryder, I’d learn not just how to care for people, but how to care well.”
Even after beginning her medical studies, Olivia has continued to work for Sue Ryder during her holidays and weekends, and she says there are moments she will never forget.
“One patient’s dying wish was to stroke a dog one last time, so I brought my Westie to see her. He just sat with her, and she petted him. It was such a lovely moment because I could see how happy it made her,” shares Olivia.
“It’s the simplest comforts that matter most in a patient’s final days: brushing their hair just the way they like it, adjusting pillows, opening a window on a sunny day, or making sure they can see the garden.”
Olivia also emphasises the importance of being there for families, too. “It can be as simple as asking, how are you? And just being that reliable presence and source of comfort, someone to speak to daily. Families are left in an unknown situation when their loved one becomes unwell, but what they do know is that Sue Ryder is going to show up for them every day.”
“It brings me so much joy to walk away from a patient knowing I’ve done everything I can to make them comfortable—and to help their family feel at ease too. It means they can just be a family again, without the added worry of having to care for their loved one.”
Olivia hopes to change people’s perception of death and dying:
“I was just 18 when I began working in palliative care and didn’t fully know what to expect. I quickly discovered it wasn’t all doom and gloom. Yes, there are sad moments, but there’s also laughter. It’s a privilege to be with people and their families during such an important time.”
Olivia says working in palliative care has taught her not to take anything for granted and that life is precious. “I have also realised that death doesn’t have to be a big, scary thing, and that speaking about it can release a lot of anxiety for people. There are lots of different factors that play into having a good death, and we shouldn’t be afraid to address them.”
“The team at Sue Ryder are all amazing and I have learnt so much from every one of them – knowledge that I will take forward during my time at Sue Ryder and in my role as a doctor when I qualify.”
Olivia works with a team of specialists at Sue Ryder Palliative Care Hub South Oxfordshire. For more information about the work of Sue Ryder and how to support the charity’s vital work, visit sueryder.org/southox
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About Sue Ryder:
At Sue Ryder, we can’t make life’s most difficult moments easy, but we can carry some of the load. For more than 70 years, we have been a source of strength and support for anyone living with a life-limiting illness or grief.
Dying and grief are universal experiences, but too many people face them alone. We are a safe and reassuring hand you can reach for. From providing care and support for someone at the end of their life to helping someone manage their grief, we know there is no one size fits all when it comes to how we cope and the help we need. We campaign for everyone who is approaching the end of their life or grieving to have access to the right support, at the right time. And we seek to break down the barriers to talking about dying and grief – so we can all be better prepared and better equipped to be there for each other.
We can make a positive difference during even the darkest of times. Whether in the last months, weeks or days of life, or living with grief, we help people live the best life they possibly can. We are there when it matters.
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