“I joined Helping Hand as an enrolled nurse in 1988. I’m responsible for checking the health conditions of our residents, dealing with any health concerns and reporting to the visiting doctor. The nurses here are also in charge of dispensing medication, injections and ensuring our residents are eating and sleeping well. It was a particularly difficult period for us during the pandemic. Lots of people were getting ill and with our residents being in the high risk category, we had to be extra cautious. Given the hands-on nature of our work, the staff got ill one after another, which meant that those who were not infected had to take on extra shifts - sometimes staying overnight continuously at the care homes to look after our residents. It was a challenging time for frontline care workers and I’m glad that those days are over!

As a more experienced nurse, I had the opportunity to go to different Helping Hand care homes to train up new nurses over the years. I learnt a lot from those experiences. I think it’s always important to get outside of our comfort zones, to learn new things and work with many different kinds of people - it’s the only way that we can grow and challenge ourselves! Apart from the medical aspects, we also need to navigate relationships with social workers, as sometimes what a resident wants emotionally or mentally may not be what’s best for their health and safety. It’s a constant delicate balance!

In my many years as a nurse, I’ve learnt the art of forgetting. We foster great relationships with our residents, but when they pass on, we cannot hold onto that sadness as we need to be our best selves for all the other residents who still need our care. We bond with the residents through different games and activities. One time, we organised a ‘retro’ event, where we dressed our residents up in traditional Cheongsam. We used that occasion to jog some old memories for them and to give them an opportunity to share stories about the ‘good old days’. The ladies in particular were delighted to play dress-up and have their hair and make up done for the day! In my 35 years with Helping Hand, my most memorable experience was when Princess Diana visited our care home in 1989. I had the opportunity to meet and greet her - she was so down to earth and so beautiful! I will always treasure this special memory.”

Storytelling by Hong Kong Shifts