to the James Cook University Hospital and his Parish
If it was to offer sympathy, a smile or just a listening ear, Kevin McBride has been someone hundreds of patients over the years have been pleased to meet and talk to. The chaplaincy visitor has dedicated his time and spent many hours on the wards of James Cook as a member of The St Vincent de Paul Society. Now, after 27 years, Kevin is leaving his home town of Middlesbrough for pastures new, meaning he has to give up the hospital role he’s loved.
Kevin said,
“After I was made redundant, I was visiting a family member at what was the then South Cleveland Hospital and got chatting to a couple of members of The St Vincent de Paul Society about their work and I decided to become a member of the St Martin de Porres Hospital SVP Conference.
“I was asked to visit wards 9, 10, 11 and 12 and would go in during the course of the week and introduce myself to staff and walk round the wards.
“While the SVP is a Roman Catholic organisation, we’d visit patients of all faiths and it has been incredibly rewarding. Often it’s being there as company for patients who we could visit any time of the day. As SVP members, we were not restricted to visiting hours and in my later role as a special minister of the Eucharist, I brought Holy Communion to the patients in the hospital and organised the three monthly rotas for 38 special ministers of the Eucharist who visited various wards in the hospital and who came from various parishes in the town.”
While Kevin is moving home with his wife to be closer to the family, the hospital – and town – will always be close to his heart and roots.
“I’ll miss the hospital, the staff and patients – it’s been a big part of my life over the last 27 years. I’ll also miss St Joseph’s Church, of which I have been a parishioner for many years.”
Malcolm Masterman, Head Chaplain of South Tees Hospitals NHS Trust, said “It’s people like Kevin who are the lifeblood of this hospital. He has given hours of his time over the years to patients and has been a valued member of our team – he will be greatly missed.”