Sophia McNicholas has earned a deserved place as a finalist in the Nurse of the Year.
Mary Sophia McNicholas from Lisnirane, Swinford in County Mayo is a finalist in the 1980 Lucozade Nurse of the Year. Her nomination is for her dedication and approach to caring for others.
'Ireland's Eye' visits the O'Dwyer Cheshire Home where she is a nurse, team leader and neighbour. Twenty six men and women with physical disabilities from all over Ireland live at the home. Sophia McNicholas works around the clock to care for these people.
The O'Dwyer Cheshire Home is run in a way that gives residents as much independence as their disability allows. Established with funds raised by members of the O'Dwyer family who have strong links with the area. It became the seventh Cheshire Home in Ireland.
Residents have been selected based on their compatibility with one another and each has a substantial say in the running of the home.
The O’Dwyer Cheshire Homes are real alternatives to institutional care. The only problem is there simply aren’t enough places to accommodate the demand.
Nursing at the home is unobtrusive and is perhaps closer to the family concept of care rather than a hospital. For Sophia McNicholas this involves bringing patients to her home nearby for a cup of tea, a chat and a change of scenery.
Residents, staff and families are completely immersed in each others lives. This feeling of family extends into the local community. Patients at the home have what is approaching the ultimate in nursing care.
The principle underpinning the Cheshire home is that,
If society is capable of letting people live longer, then the responsibility is on us to make those lives as happy and fulfilled as possible.
When Sophia McNicholas brings residents to her own home, she does not see this as work. She points out there are times in all our lives where we need the help of others. She loves her work and does not see the residents that live in the home as patients or sick people. The residents themselves play a part in running the home to whatever degree they are capable and are made to feel valued. Sophia McNicholas sees them as an asset to the community.
They’re made to use their life as fully as possible.
The success of the home is largely down to the community involvement which works both ways.
This episode of 'Ireland’s Eye' was broadcast on 5 December 1980.
'Ireland's Eye' was a Tuesday-to-Friday series with human-interest stories and features from locations throughout Ireland. First broadcast on 7 October 1980, the programme ran until August 1983.
