Inspirational Cumbrian nurse cares for hundreds of people

Solveig Hunt recently retired from St Mary’s Hospice in Ulverston as the service celebrated its 35th anniversary.

(Image: Solveig Hunt) Originally from Norway, Solveig first qualified as a nurse in December 1981 and worked seven months in Bergen before getting married and moving to Britain.

Solveig was always interested in the care of the dying since her first job on a neurosurgical ward, where she was exposed to people who had been in serious car accident or diagnosed with brain tumours.

“I think it hit something in me,” she said, “When you’re so fragile and so frightened and it’s the most difficult time of life for patient and their family around them, it makes such a difference how its handled.”

“At times, just sitting with a patient and being there to talk, hold their hand or just sit quietly, is the best thing you can do for someone,” she said, “But it’s not something you get time to do on a busy hospital ward.”

Members of the hospice were invited to a charity meal in Windermere cooked by a Michelin star chef (Image: Solveig Hunt) She took a job as an auxiliary nurse while her papers were being approved and worked as a health care assistant at High Carley hospital in Ulverston.

In March 1983, Solveig was working as a nurse in Barrow, before moving to Furness General Hospital when it opened officially in 1985.

Solveig revealed she was dissatisfied at FGH because there was never enough time to talk to patients or offer comfort, as the ward was always too busy, and nurses were often called away to the next emergency.

(Image: Solveig Hunt) At the start of her career, Solveig remembers hospital night shifts were covered by just four nurses, despite the ward being busy with 42 patients.

“I didn’t go into nursing to rush from one patient to another, I wanted to spend more time talking to and getting to know the people I was treating,” she said.

Alongside her career, Solveig was able to raise a family and has three children. It was shortly after giving birth to her second son in 1988 that she decided to apply for a job at the Hospice.

She was one of the original nurses present when St Mary’s first opened to care for patients suffering from terminal illnesses in June 1989.

Solveig said she is ‘so glad’ she decided to join the Hospice and remembers when it first opened with only six beds.

Starting as a bank nurse, Solveig secured a spot on the in-patient unit in 1995, then moved her focus to the Hospice at Home service when it launched in 2008.

Solveig ‘loved’ the Hospice at Home service because it allowed her to get an immediate sense of a person from their surroundings, from the pictures hung up on their walls to the music they had playing in the background.

Members of the hospice were invited to a charity meal in Windermere cooked by a Michelin star chef (Image: Solveig Hunt) “People also feel more relaxed in their own environment,” she said, “You see people at such a low point, when they are dying, or watching someone, who they love so dearly, die.

“It’s so much more intimate than other types of nursing, people open up and are willing to let you in. I’ve met so many incredible people who’ve shared stories of their highs and lows and what’s important to them.”

Solveig’s career has allowed her to combine her joy of speaking to people with her skills as a nurse.

“I’m glad my colleagues and I could make a difference and help people at this awful time in their lives, helping them to be as calm and settled as could be.

“It takes time to learn the reaction each individual needs and how to help patients and their family members bear it. You can be laughing in one room, then moving to the next room and moved close to tears.”

(Image: Solveig Hunt) Now that she has retired, Solveig plans to spend time with her first grandchild, a granddaughter who was born in April.

She also hopes to do some more hiking, something she used as an escape throughout her long career, to help her recover after difficult shifts.

As well as getting outside more and staying physically active, Solveig wants to have more time with her friends and her church, where she helps run the toddler group.

Solveig said: “I’m extremely thankful that I’ve had a job for so many years and can’t think of anything else I’d rather have done. That’s special, some people spend 20 years doing something they don’t like. I was just doing my job, which I loved and was helped to do to the best of my ability.”