A Day In The Life Of...
Claire Jefferies, Healthcare Assistant in our Inpatient Unit, tells us about her working day.
“I joined Farleigh Hospice as a healthcare assistant (HCA) with the Inpatient Unit (IPU) a year ago. Farleigh’s Hospice at Home team assisted me looking after my mother during her last months and I just knew that this was something I wanted to do to help other patients and families.
I arrive at work at 7.10am, ready for hand over at 7.30am. The Nurse in Charge from the previous shift hands over to the next Nurse in Charge and gives an update on patients to all nursing staff coming onto shift.
Today, it is my turn to be Healthcare in Charge. I am responsible for the completion of all tasks and ensuring that patients’ nutrition, personal care, repositioning and wellbeing are attended to.
Whilst one HCA is preparing and taking orders for patients’ food and drinks, myself and my colleague check that each patient is okay. Pressure areas are of great concern so we monitor skin integrity and reposition anyone who needs to be made comfortable or who has been in the same position for a few hours.
A new patient is due to be admitted so I check that the room allocated to them is ready. She arrives and is very tired and quite distressed. Myself and the nurse allocated to her then take her and her family to her room and settle her in. I make them a cup of tea, show them the call bell and give them some quiet time to adjust. After ten minutes, I go back in and can already see them looking more relaxed.
Once all the standard observations and initial admission assessments are complete, she has a sleep and I show her husband and daughter around the unit, the Sanctuary - our quiet spiritual area - and around the gardens. The family are still worried so we chat about their concerns.
At Farleigh IPU and Hospice at Home, we care as much for the families as we do for the patient. It is not just one person’s journey - we are there in this journey together. Feeling a little more reassured, I see the stress relax from their faces. The new patient has woken up and wants something to eat. Her family say she hasn’t eaten for days, so this is reassuring.
During this time, my colleagues have started on the personal care of our other patients.
After lunch, we ensure that everyone is comfortable. Some would like to sit outside - it is a lovely day and it does them the world of good to get some fresh air. Our new lady sits on her patio with her family. She is really settled now and they are so relieved.
During the day, the nurses do their medication round. As a drug checker, I assist by checking that the right medication is given to the right patient at the right time.
It’s dinner time already. Fresh drinks are given to patients with their choice of supper. I then start writing my notes of everything we have done for each patient on our system.
Hand over begins when the evening staff arrive. We leave the unit clean and tidy, ready for the next shift at around 8pm. I always want to leave knowing that I have done the best job I could do that day, to the highest standard. This is something that we all do at Farleigh.
It is an absolute privilege to work at Farleigh Hospice. I count myself so lucky to have secured this position with such a wonderful team of people around me. We are all so humbled that patients and families let us care for them during what is the most difficult time in their lives. We are dedicated to their care, being respectful and providing dignity and independence at all times.
We are currently recruiting Registered Nurses and Health Care Assistants to work in our Specialist Inpatient Unit. You can find more information here.
