June Jolly (28 September 1928 – 12 March 2016) was an English

paediatric Pediatrics ( also spelled ''paediatrics'' or ''pædiatrics'') is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. In the United Kingdom, paediatrics covers many of their youth until the ...

nurse Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other health c ...

and

social work Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social work ...

er who in the 1970s–80s transformed the care provided in British children's hospitals to a "family-centred" model.

Biography

June Jolly was born on 28 September 1928 in

Hove Hove is a seaside resort and one of the two main parts of the city of Brighton and Hove, along with Brighton in East Sussex, England. Originally a "small but ancient fishing village" surrounded by open farmland, it grew rapidly in the 19th cen ...

to Arthur Jolly, a chartered accountant, and Flora Leaver, a

Girl Guides Girl Guides (known as Girl Scouts in the United States and some other countries) is a worldwide movement, originally and largely still designed for girls and women only. The movement began in 1909 when girls requested to join the then-grassroot ...

commissioner. When she was 12 years old, June and two younger siblings were evacuated during the Second World War to

Windsor, Ontario Windsor is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, on the south bank of the Detroit River directly across from Detroit, Michigan, United States. Geographically located within but administratively independent of Essex County, it is the souther ...

, in Canada. All three children were placed with different foster families; June's foster father was a

paediatrician Pediatrics (American and British English differences, also spelled ''paediatrics'' or ''pædiatrics'') is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, Adolescence, adolescents, and young adults. In the United King ...

, who inspired her to work in medicine. She returned to England at the end of the war and went on to complete a degree in social science at the

University of Southampton , mottoeng = The Heights Yield to Endeavour , type = Public research university , established = 1862 – Hartley Institution1902 – Hartley University College1913 – Southampton University Coll ...

in 1950. After a one-year course in childcare at the

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 millio ...

, she worked in

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

for eleven years as a social worker in the field of

child protection Child protection is the safeguarding of children from violence, exploitation, abuse, and neglect. Article 19 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child provides for the protection of children in and out of the home. One of the ways to e ...

. In 1963, Jolly qualified as a nurse through a newly established graduate programme at the

Florence Nightingale Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery The Florence Nightingale Faculty of Nursing, Midwifery & Palliative Care is an academic faculty within King's College London. The faculty is the world's first nursing school to be continuously connected to a fully serving hospital and medic ...

St Thomas' Hospital St Thomas' Hospital is a large NHS teaching hospital in Central London, England. It is one of the institutions that compose the King's Health Partners, an academic health science centre. Administratively part of the Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foun ...

in London. She was disappointed by the standards of emotional care for hospitalised children, and especially the reluctance to allow parents greater involvement in their children's care. She was promoted to sister-in-charge of the paediatric ward at St Thomas' Hospital and also worked at

St Christopher's Hospice St. Christopher's Hospice is a hospice in south London, England, established in 1967 by Cicely Saunders, whose work is considered the basis of modern hospice philosophy. Legacy Among the first staff at St. Christopher's was Florence Wald, who to ...

in pain and terminal care. In 1971, she was invited to establish a children's unit at the

Brook General Hospital The Brook General Hospital (originally, 1896–1948, the Brook Fever Hospital) was the westernmost of three hospitals simultaneously situated on Shooter's Hill in southeast London in the Royal Borough of Greenwich (the others were the Royal ...

Woolwich Woolwich () is a district in southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was maintained throu ...

. There, she fitted the wards and nurses with colourful curtains and aprons, and set up a "care-by-parent" unit that encouraged parental involvement. On special occasions, she arranged fireworks and a visit to the ward by a circus elephant and lion cub. Jolly received a scholarship from the Nightingale and Rayne Foundation to travel to North America and Jamaica to study different models of paediatric healthcare. She published a book based on her observations, ''The Other Side of Paediatrics: a guide to the everyday care of sick children'', in 1980, which promoted a "family-centred" model of nursing and was released internationally. She died on 12 March 2016, aged 87.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jolly, June 1928 births 2016 deaths Nurses from London English social workers People from Hove Alumni of the University of Southampton Alumni of the London School of Economics Alumni of King's College London