Meet our staff...

Lisa, Rosie and Deanna are three Occupational Therapy students from Leeds Metropolitan University, working with Integrated Services. During their three month placement, they have been undertaking a project, which they explain below.

We are a group of three students studying Occupational Therapy at Leeds Metropolitan University, currently on a role emerging placement with Integrated Services until the 11th July. 

For role emerging placements, students enter into a non-traditional placement setting and introduce or expand the role of occupational therapy within the service and develop a project around this. Occupational therapists (OTs) enable people to overcome obstacles which prevent them from participating in the occupations that matter to them. This may be a result of the aging process, illness, disability or other circumstances.

Our project is to promote occupational therapy to the other professionals working within Integrated Services in Beeston (where we are mainly based) who are predominantly District Nurses and Community Matrons.

During the beginning stages of the placement we gathered information to help us devise our project by shadowing nurses and OTs on client visits, conducting a focus group with OTs and surveying the nurses based at Beeston. Our rationale for the project was that most OT referrals are for equipment or adaptation provision and the OTs in Integrated Services are aiming to work more holistically. This includes enabling clients to engage in occupations that are important to them, such as being able to socialise with friends at a weekly coffee morning, being able to take their dog for a walk, or knitting a scarf for a grandchild.

As part of the project, we have created several posters which will be displayed at Beeston Health Centre, as well as leaflets which will be distributed to staff and patients, explaining the role of Occupational Therapy. During the last week of our placement, we are holding an interactive session with the nurses based at Beeston to explore the meaning of occupation and how beneficial engaging in meaningful occupations is to a person’s health and wellbeing. We will then discuss potential interventions OTs can provide, using case studies to illustrate the role of OT with several different clients.  

Our placement mentors believe there is an unmet need where occupational therapy could improve clients overall health and wellbeing (e.g. clients experiencing social isolation, disruption in roles and routines) however due to the perception of OT within the service these clients are not getting referred. Integrated working requires professionals to understand one another’s roles so we believe promoting OT to other professionals will serve this purpose while also addressing the unmet need of clients. We hope that when the placement is finished our mentors will continue to use the resources we have produced to promote OT across Leeds. 

Lisa Downing,  Rosie Longshaw and Deanna Stephens

Healthcare Assistants - Our Unsung Heroes

I am so pleased we were able to celebrate International Nursing Assistants' Day on the 12^th June 2014 in Leeds. 

Nationally therapy assistants and nursing assistants are an essential part of our workforce and are often the unsung heroes. In LCH, care assistants are trained, hardworking and professional.  In my experience as a health professional and as a recipient of healthcare, an experienced care assistant can turn a traumatic experience into a positive caring interaction. They can diffuse anxiety with friendly, confident and competent care.

Thank you to all of our healthcare support workers.

Angie Clegg, Executive (Nurse) Director of Quality 




 

Celebrating Nursing Assistants' Day

On Thursday 12 June, we decided to recognise the hard work of nursing assistants with a celebratory day.  

Working across the city, both day and night, nursing assistants are essential to ensure the trust continues to provide a high standard of community nursing care.  

Five community nursing assistants took time out of their busy schedule to give us an insight in to the role of a nursing assistant at LCH. Huge thanks to Julie, Karen, Adele, Maggie and Janet for their time, here’s a few snippets from our chat:

What made you want to become a community nursing assistant?    

Karen: “It was my friend that is also a nursing assistant that encouraged me to consider becoming one. I first started with a one month contract as an agency nursing assistant at Meanwood Health Centre but I ended up working there for seven months, during which I fell in love with the job. As soon as a permanent band 3 post came up, I applied and was successful.”

What attracted you to join LCH as a community nursing assistant?

Maggie: “As I don’t drive, this was the first nursing assistant role I had seen where I could walk, rather than being required to have a car to get around and see patients. I really enjoy getting out and about in the community, I find it is much more relaxing than being on a ward. Plus I feel empowered to make decisions yet know I have a supportive team to contact should I need to.”

What do you enjoy about being a community nursing assistant?

Karen: “I enjoy working with some of our more challenging patients, especially when I can bring out their sparkle and find a common interest to chat to them about and bring them out of themselves.”

Adele: “I have been with the trust for four years now and enjoy every aspect of my job. Daily, it offers me the chance to meet new people, be challenged and take on responsibility.”

What would a typical day involved for a community nursing assistant?

Janet: “I work on the day shift so the first part of my day generally involves being in the community, providing treatments such as doing leg dressings, taking pressure measurements, assisting with bowel care, giving insulin and eye drops, etc. The nursing assistants and myself then head back to base (there is 12 bases across the city) at lunchtime to regroup, discuss patient care and get work schedules for the next day. After this we will all head back out, either to a patients home, day centre or residential home. No two patients are ever the same so my day is always varied.”

What has been a highlight during your time as a nursing assistant at LCH?

Adele: “In my previously role at a residential home, I only did personal care but becoming a nursing assistant has allowed me to learn more and offer the next level of healthcare to patients. The training opportunities at LCH are really good.”

Janet: “One of my personal achievements is getting my NVQ level 3, which I did through the trust.” 

What would you say to someone thinking of becoming a nursing assistant?

Julie: “Other members of my team and myself work a lot with students, taking them out in the community with us, mentoring them. For anyone thinking of a career in nursing, being a nursing assistant is a great way to start and give people insight in to healthcare.”

 

Sarah Elwell, Communications Team