A day in the life of...

“As a practitioner in Family Support Services, my role is to provide practical guidance and emotional support to patients who are receiving palliative or end of life care and their families.

I have worked at Farleigh Hospice for 15 years, initially as a nurse in Day Services. I joined the Family Support Service around three years ago. I was attracted to this role as I had seen just how important the emotional and practical aspects of care and support are for people affected by a life-limiting illness.

There are five practitioners within the team and we work closely with, and are supported by, our counsellor. My working days are Monday to Wednesday. I work
out in the community, visiting people in their own homes, as well as visiting patients on the Inpatient Unit and seeing patients and families by appointment in
the Lantern Suite here at the hospice.

A big part of my role is to provide emotional support. Having a life-limiting illness, or being a loved one of someone who does, can cause a wide range of complex emotions, resulting in distress. It is not unusual for people to experience fear, sadness, depression, anger, resentment, loneliness, isolation or guilt. Being able to talk about how they are feeling and expressing their fears and worries can help to improve their emotional wellbeing.

We also provide patients and their families with advice and guidance on practical and financial issues. In the current climate, more people are experiencing financial difficulties and being diagnosed with a life-limiting illness can increase the likelihood of falling into poverty. It makes a huge difference to families to be able to have
extra money in the budget by claiming any benefits they are entitled to. Families are grateful for help with navigating the often complex forms they need to fill in.

Family Support Services also run several groups: a walking group for carers in both Maldon and Chelmsford, CAIT (Carers Are Important Too!) group and jointly run the Lantern group, facilitating two out of the six sessions.

This morning, I facilitated the Lantern Group. This is a six-week course for patients and carers that aims to empower them to manage their symptoms, improve their wellbeing and increase their confidence, so they can have the best quality of life possible. There is a different topic each week which is presented by the appropriate health care professionals from the multidisciplinary team. Today’s session was titled ‘managing emotions’.

Participants benefited from sharing experiences and getting support and information from us and their peers. The participants were very open in sharing their feelings about the emotional effect of living with a life-limiting illness and shared a few tears, along with some cake! Everybody said they gained a lot from meeting others ‘in the same boat’.

The afternoon starts with a home visit to a patient who wants to plan a meaningful funeral and document her wishes for this. She tells me afterwards that she had wanted to take the burden away from her family and that she now has peace of mind.

We also have an open conversation about her fears and worries as she deteriorates and is imminently dying and she tells me this has helped to reduce her fear. It’s important to have open and honest discussions about death and dying to allay fears and to help prepare for a good death where they feel supported and prepared.

Sometimes family members are not able to talk openly with their loved ones and feel they have to be positive all the time and say, “you will be fine.”

I finish my day with a phone call to a family carer who had been struggling emotionally with their wife’s cancer diagnosis but is feeling more positive. As a couple, they tell me they are determined to treasure the time left and fill it with good days. I am very tired when I get home but the day has been very rewarding. The work is interesting and varied but can be very busy - no two days are alike in this role!”

This story is taken from the Winter Lantern #112