A fond farewell to Jacqui Featherstone (continued

A message from Andrea Philip, associate director of operations - family and women’s services

“Jacqui was part of the interview panel when I was interviewed for the maternity matron position back in May 2009. I had never met Jacqui previously, but I will always remember her nods of encouragement and soothing sincere smile throughout the interview.

“I joined PAHT in November 2009; however, Jacqui was on a six-month secondment with the then Strategic Health Authority. Even though we had not worked together, I was beginning to understand who Jacqui was, as you could not walk anywhere in the unit without a positive mention of her name or how much she was missed whilst on her secondment.

“Our professional and personal friendship blossomed when we shared an office between the two of us. In all that time, we have only ever had two real ‘blow outs’ which lasted no more than a few minutes.

“We have been through many highs and lows together throughout this time. We have celebrated the achievement of an Outstanding CQC rating for maternity and a Good CQC rating for child health.

“We have relied on each other through the lows and sometimes cried together through shared frustration or hysteria, but we were always there to support each other.

“Jacqui is completely selfless and always puts others first. She put up with my ‘cranky’ days while I was studying for my MSc, and encouraged me to complete it. There has never been a start or finish time at work for Jacqui, she makes time to see our staff and patients to discuss their individual needs and how their care could be improved.

“Jacqui has shown real commitment to maternity and child health services and has managed to juggle many other responsibilities. This includes supporting the surgery team as associate director of nursing for surgery whilst maintaining her own family and women’s role.

“I am very sad that Jacqui is retiring and I will miss her dearly as we are not just work colleagues, but friends for life. Anyway, we already have set lunch dates in the diary! I know that the team will go onto achieve great things due to the strong foundation that Jacqui has built.

“Finally, to conclude on who Jacqui is and what makes her so special, I will share a moment that occurred last week. A midwife visited to thank Jacqui for her personal efforts to support and reach out to her family during a very difficult period of sickness.

“The midwife said something very profound - ‘Jacqui you really cared about me and my family and I don’t know if you realise how much that means to me. You do this for every member of staff when needed all the time’.

“Jacqui truly cares about everyone alongside her and will be greatly missed. I wish her every happiness during her retirement and as the meaning of her names states ‘May God protect’.”