A new director of care has been appointed to south Essex's two hospices.

Sue Rouse, 35, takes over from Daphne Hall, MBE, former director and founder of the South East Essex Christian Hospice who retired in 1999.

Sue currently heads the team of seven community Macmillan nurses who are based at Fair Havens Hospice in Westcliff, but will also be looking after the needs of patients at Little Haven Children's Hospice at Thundersley.

Her nursing career began at the Royal Free Hospital in London, followed by a spell in Barking and Havering as a district nurse, before joining the Mildmay Mission in Southend as the head of day care and community team.

Sue has worked as a Macmillan nurse in the Southend, Rochford and Castle Point areas for over four years, and sees her biggest challenge as taking the hospices forward into the next century and identifying what this might mean in terms of providing care for terminally ill people.

She said: "I hope I will bring some new and different skills to the job. I have a lot of knowledge of palliative care issues and working practices locally.

"In addition, I have many contacts with other services within the community. I see my main task now as building upon and enhancing the work that Daphne undertook in the past.

"One of the key elements of the job will be responsibility for planning and co-ordinating the delivery of care services. This must be done in the light of the need for a professional and efficient specialist service for children across Essex and adults locally."

Sue is married to David, director of finance at Mildmay International. The couple have three children.

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