Theresa (Tess) Hayward is remembered by friends and colleagues as a social worker of great integrity who, throughout her long career, made a rare, innovative contribution to paediatric social work. Tess died in December 2016.

Tess was one of the first Australian social work almoners, graduating in 1951. Her training was pioneered by that formidable visionary, Kate Ogilvie, who instilled in her students, including Tess, a passion for advocacy and action, demurely dressed as they were in hat and gloves.

Tess then worked in London at Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital and in an action-research project with families in Hackney, in a unique collaboration of three NGOs. She studied psychotherapy at the Tavistock Clinic, and from this she developed a deep understanding of attachment and loss, the underpinning for her unique mix of the practical and psychological.

Back in Australia, a chance interview led to a job at the Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children in Camperdown, Sydney (now The Children’s Hospital Westmead), where she remained until she retired.

Hospitals were far from hospitable to children and parents in those days. There was no place for the concepts we take for granted in health care social work today – parent–infant attachment, the meaning of separation and trauma. Tess was a driving force in the truly revolutionary paradigm shift in patient care at the Royal Alexandra – informing and involving parents and children in decision-making, making the hospital welcoming and advocating for the needs of disabled children.

She was a key activist in setting up, for example, health care interpreters, the first hospital Aboriginal health worker, parents’ lobby groups, and a Parent Information Kiosk (which was revolutionary then!)
Tess was a consummate, inspirational social worker and mentor. Her clinical work was mostly with children with disabilities, including spina bifida. She was a wise member of the management team within the Social Work Department. Her steady, patient demeanour created the right sort of ambiance for work with families facing trauma and loss – although she could be formidable when required.

Even in retirement, Tess never lost her curiosity about people and cultures. She was famous for gatherings in her lovely house and garden, surrounded by books, paintings and plants, and iPad to hand so she could stay in touch with colleagues, friends and her far-flung family. She was a member of the AASW NSW Branch’s Ethics Committee, hosted the Psychodynamic Interest Group, and was the key speaker at AASW and Children’s Hospital seminars. In 1999, Tess was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for her distinguished professional contribution.

About the author
Until 2014, Sheila Sim was a social work clinician and manager in women’s and children’s health in the UK and Australia. She has written this farewell to Tess Hayward with the collaboration of many of Tess’s colleagues and friends.