Meet some of the mums and daughters working at Epsom and St Helier NHS Trust
This Mother’s Day, we are celebrating the wonderful mums at Epsom and St Helier NHS Trust – and also thinking about those who find this day difficult.
Here, we meet some of the amazing mums and daughters who work for us and find out a bit more about their relationships.
Robyn and Julie
Robyn and her mum, Julie, both started out in different careers before joining Epsom and St Helier.
A&E receptionist Robyn, who has a son, Louie, became a hairdresser aged 16, managing two well-known salons before “taking the leap” and going alone.
Then Covid came along and she was unable to work – so she joined our temporary staff bank, before eventually being made permanent in this challenging but rewarding role.
Julie, meanwhile, previously worked in banking and for a staff association, where she took voluntary redundancy.
When her mum had a heart attack, Julie spent eight weeks going backwards and forwards to St Helier to visit, and when she started to recover Julie signed up with a temp agency.
She secured a job in Emergency and Medical Services at the very same hospital – and Julie was eventually made permanent and now works as a Directorate Co-ordinator in Anaesthetics.
Speaking about her relationship with Robyn, Julie says: “Family is a very big part of our lives, and we will be celebrating Mother’s Day together. I would say that we are very close. Robyn is always my first point of contact if I have something to talk through. We speak regularly throughout each day.
“We enjoy shopping and relaxing together, cinema, theatre or just a day out by the coast or walking. During my mum's last few months Robyn was always there to help out with her nan's care. Robyn has also given me my most precious and gorgeous grandson, Louie.
“I admire my daughter's work ethic. As well as looking after her son and running a home, she works in a very challenging environment on the front desk of A&E.
“We can often be seen doing a handover of my grandson in the car park as I leave for the day and she comes in to start her shift!”
The love and respect is mutual – with Robyn describing a close relationship.
“I look up to my mum and can’t thank her enough for everything she has done and does for me and my son,” she says.
“If I ever need her she is there 24/7.
“We speak all the time, normally starting with a phone call when one of us is driving in to work.
Then we check in with each other regularly during the day. We speak every night, too, and FaceTime at bedtime with my little boy.
“Our favourite thing to do is go and get our feet done together! We love a garden centre trip or IKEA. We spend most weekends together and if my mum is having my son on a Saturday while I work then we go out for dinner after.”
She jokingly adds: “Lots of people like to ask if we are sisters! I quickly say, ‘No, she is my mum’.”
Lily and Gillian
Clinic Management Coordinator Lily was inspired by her mum, Gillian, to join the NHS.
Aged 18, Lily started her journey with the trust as a healthcare assistant in Epsom Hospital’s SWLEOC (South West London Elective Orthopaedic Centre) – where Gillian was also based in the same role.
“I lived at home then so we would commute there and back together,” says Lily. “Although we were on different wards we would have lunches together and formed the same friendship groups, when we went out for drinks and dinners.”
Lily switched roles and worked as a receptionist at St Helier in the Outpatients Springall Unit.
But mum and daughter weren’t apart for long, as a healthcare assistant job came up that Gillian successfully applied for. Lily did move into a new role shortly afterwards as a Patient Pathway Coordinator – but the pair continued to see each other regularly at work.
Lily’s daughter, Elsie, also attends the on-site Woodlands Nursery – so Gillian and Lily will often drop her off and pick her up together.
Summarising their time working together over the years, Lily says: “It has been so special, it’s brought great comfort to me and we’ve had lots of fun!
“I am so grateful to have such a special mum, I love the bond we have and being able to go through everything knowing she is and always will be right by my side.
“My mum and I are so close, we have the best relationship and I feel so lucky for that. She is my best friend and we do everything together.”
Gillian added: “Lily and I enjoy each other’s company, and lots of people comment on how alike we are in personality.
“I can’t imagine a day where we don’t work in the same place.”
Holly-Jean and Georgina
It’s hard for Holly-Jean to remember a time when her mum, Georgina, wasn’t working for Epsom and St Helier.
Nursing Associate Georgina started working for the trust when Holly-Jean was just five – having started university a couple of years after her daughter was born.
But mum and daughter’s links to Epsom and St Helier go back even further than that – with Holly-Jean born at St Helier Hospital and Georgina at Epsom.
“The trust has been part of my life somewhat since I was very young.” says Holly-Jean, who is a healthcare assistant.
“My mum, my sister and I are all very close. My mum and I also have matching tattoos!”
