Sensing Spaces of Healthcare

I remember… When I trained in the 1970s/80s we had protected lunch and coffee breaks – now people have to have quick breaks on wards. There is less time to decompress and talk to colleagues.

I remember… I was studying in London, I was a student & was asked to be an interpreter for someone from the Middle East with leukaemia. The doctor, in the corridor as people walked past, said “can you tell this person they are going to die?” I did not tell him in the corridor, I took him to the medical attache to tell him, I didn’t have the courage!

I remember… All my adult GAs 8 of them have had great fun chatting medical history with all the theatre staff …. I love history of anaesthesia so have a great time chatting.

I remember… 11 days after the premature birth of my son in 2007 we were still both in-patients in the hospital’s transitional care unit. I was so tred, and scared, but desperate to be able to breastfeed. When they had time, midwives would try to coach me to get him to latch on, but nothing seemed to work, and I cried a lot each day. On the 11th day, around 11pm, an older, quite grumpy midwife was sitting with me when the baby finally latched on and started to suck. I looked up, and there were tears on the midwife’s face. It was a life changing moment, to feel my son finally getting what he needed from me, and also to understand how much the grumpy-seeming midwife cared about this working. I was so tired, but suddenly could feel some hope and joy coming in to my life again.