Rachael spends her time working with children staying on Casey and Ebbisham wards, and has been with us since November 2011. However, had things turned out a little differently, Rachael could have been gracing another well-known Epsom institution.
Rachael explains: "I'm a qualified horse groom, and before working in caring professions I wanted to be a jockey. I attended the training school, but didn't find it challenging enough. However, I did get to meet two of my idols, Willie Carson and Lester Piggott, who are two of the most successful jockeys ever.
"Instead, I've embarked on a career that, for the past 15 years, has seen me work as a nanny, a support worker for autistic adults and children, and a nursery nurse. I've got here via Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire and the Alps, and it's been worth it.
"My job involves keeping areas safe and enjoyable for children and preparing patients and their families for treatment. We use quite a few distraction techniques that require a keen sense of imagination - for example, I might tell a younger patient preparing for surgery that the doctors are wearing their pyjamas, or that the anaesthetist will be fitting them with a 'pilot's mask'.
"I help adults and medical staff to recognise the need for play on the wards, as it introduces normality to an otherwise unfamiliar environment. Fundamentally, I'm here to make the patient's time with us one of fun instead of fear.
"The best part of my job, though, is that I get to play all day! I really have to thank matron Julie Harvey and senior sister Karen Kilday for giving me the job of my dreams, and all the staff who have welcomed and supported me in my time here so far."
