Grabbing a coffee with friends. Returning home from the In-Patient Unit. Getting your life back. Not things you’d expect from a hospice – but at St Michael’s Hospice they’re part of everyday life.

Physiotherapist, Anna, shares insight into her role supporting patients both physically and emotionally.

Tell us about your role at St Michael’s Hospice.

I’m a physiotherapist here at the Hospice. My role involves taking a rehabilitative approach to supporting patients during their time under hospice care.  On a daily basis, my role includes:

• Completing assessments to find out how we can best support people and what’s important to them.
• Running groups as part of the Wellbeing Programme such as a rehab exercise group and Drumming Together.
• Working on the In-Patient Unit and seeing outpatients – patients that live at home but come to the Hospice for appointments – with a specific rehab need.

We support patients with breathlessness and fatigue, assessing and optimising mobility,  and pain management with the support of our registered nurses and clinical nurse specialists – ultimately helping them reach their rehabilitation goals. Goals vary from something like being able to stand to cook a meal to being able to walk along the seafront or to enjoy a coffee with friends.

Physiotherapy in a hospice is different to other settings. We have time to spend with patients so we get to know what is important to them, build trust and help them find strength, whether physical or emotional. Focusing on daily routines and maintaining meaningful activity throughout the day is really important for a lot of patients. We support people to exercise safely to support their mobility goals, we teach techniques to help manage breathlessness during day to day activity – small, achievable goals in small steps that make a big difference.

Describe a typical day.

I usually start the day by attending ward handover with the doctors, nurses, social workers and wellbeing assistants to discuss a plan for each patient on the In-Patient Unit to ensure we support each patient’s needs as a multi-disciplinary team.

I’ll then make a plan of all the priorities that I’ve got that day, managing the needs of the In-Patient Unit alongside the patients who live at home and essential team meetings.  If we take a Thursday as an example, after the ward handover I would make calls to patients who live at home, either for follow-ups or to book in appointments as needed. I would then attend our rehab team meeting which is an opportunity to ensure we are meeting patient needs alongside our occupational therapy colleagues who can offer assessment at home. I would then see a pre-booked outpatient for breathlessness support, management of fatigue or a mobility assessment or review.

In the afternoon, I run our Moving Forward rehab group with a wellbeing assistant. We check attendees in half an hour before the group starts, to find out how their week has been, discuss their symptoms or concerns and make sure that they’re safe to participate in the exercises. The group itself is split into two sections. The first 30 minutes is a group exercise programme and the second half is personalised to the needs or goals of each individual.  Following the group, I would complete all necessary documentation and I’d then spend the rest of the afternoon on the In-Patient Unit supporting the needs of the patients there.

What’s your favourite memory of working at the Hospice?

We had a patient arrive on the In-Patient Unit who came in for end of life care. She engaged really well with the rehabilitation support and the Wellbeing Programme and we saw improvements to some of her symptoms and she became well enough to leave the Hospice.

She didn’t have many friends or family locally, so arranging for her to leave was challenging, however she then moved into a nursing home. After a short time she was well enough to discharge herself and return home.

Working with her over that long period of time and seeing the benefits that everything we offer here had on her physical health and emotional wellbeing, was really rewarding.

What has surprised you most about working for a Hospice?

Before I came into the Hospice, I hadn’t had any experience working with patients in this setting. For me, it’s that we support patients for as long as they need us, it’s not just about end of life care.

What does it mean to you to support people where you live?

Community is really important. We often see how our kind and supportive community help patients and their friends and families. It’s really rewarding to be able to use my skills to play my part in supporting local people and give back.

What are you proud to have enabled for somebody?

There was a patient who came to Moving Forward group who was very low in mood. She was fatigued a lot of the time and her breathlessness had got worse. She was needing more oxygen, struggling much more with everyday activities. She had 12 weeks of group support and in that time she learnt how to manage her breathlessness whilst moving. We focused a lot on pacing her activity and having regular breaks and this helped her to greatly increase the distance that she could walk.

She was even able to go out and meet a friend for coffee, which she hadn’t thought she would be able to do. She said to me, “Coming to the wellbeing group has given me my life back”. That made me feel really proud.

Hospice care isn’t just about the end of life – it’s about making the most of every day. Visit stmichaelshospice.com/services to find out more about your local hospice. St Michael’s Hospice supports the whole of Hastings and Rother and all services are free of charge.