Goodbye Dr Pick

After 19 years of working for Springhill, Dr Pick said his final goodbyes on the 7th of November, as he leaves us to enjoy his retirement. Staff and volunteers gathered in celebration at the Hospice to say their farewells and to also celebrate his birthday, with a rather lovely looking cake!

He wrote a letter to us that said: 

I have had the privilege of working amongst you for the last nineteen years and it all came to an end yesterday, on the seventh of November.

I was a bit overwhelmed by the warm send-off that I received and the barrage of lovely messages, cards and presents. The black book is now a treasure of mine. It was great to see some folks who had retired themselves come back to say good-bye, too. I saw people from all parts of the organisation, including volunteers, staff and trustees and gathered a lot of lovely hugs along the way. I have never had poetry written about me before- a new experience! 

I made the decision to retire three years ago and have wrestled with it for some time, but three years speeds past for me, nowadays, and it has come upon me at a rush in recent weeks. I am both upset and happy at the same time. Inwardly, I know that I have made the correct decision, and the timing is also right for me. Over 19 years, the hospice and palliative medicine have both changed and I believe Springhill is going from strength to strength and has a great future. Part of this is because it carries an ethos that is the reason the hospice and what it does and represents got absorbed into me. The other part is because of the current team- this encompasses everyone who does their bit- which is the best I’ve known anywhere. 

It has truly been an honour for me, and I feel that I have gained so much from working at Springhill. I leave with happy thoughts of wonderful people. Thank-you, everyone and you should all be proud of doing what you do so well. I have a lot of fond memories to carry with me and a lot of chocolate cake to eat! See you soon. Chris

We wish him all the best for his retirement and we have no doubt that we will be seeing him again soon.