As part of our continued commitment to improving our care services and increasing our leader’s understanding of the services we provide, I spent a day walking in the shoes of a Healthcare Assistant on the Fair Havens In Patient Unit.

Before starting the shift, I was incredibly excited to roll my sleeves up and spend time with our team and patients. I have always worked directly with service users until I joined Havens Hospices five years ago, and I have missed this direct contact with people. I joined IPU for their morning handover and started by letting the team know that I left my Director of Services ‘hat’ at the door and wished to be treated as a new HCA. After a few giggles about how young I looked in my uniform, business as usual commenced.

My shift started with giving a patient a bed bath, and whilst we did this, we spoke about his favourite music, laughed and reminisced about the fun life that he has had as well as some of his early challenges.

We spoke about the things that mattered most to him and even sang along to one of his mix tapes. We helped him cut his hair and get dressed into his favourite outfit, ready to have lunch with his wife, who would be visiting later in the day. He had some pain, and we supported him to get comfortable and called in the nurses to check his medications. We put on fresh bedding and made the room light and airy, ready for the day. Throughout the day, we went back multiple times to chat and check that all his needs were met. We greeted his family, made them lunch, and gave them tea and cake in the afternoon.

Throughout the day, he shared his life story with our Marketing Team and had a visit from our Counsellor and Creative Therapist. This is just one of the eight patients that were cared for by a range of teams on that day.

The day was busy, we rushed around non-stop from one end of the ward to the next with little time to stop. We responded to requests and had to think fast to do our very best to give the people what they needed. We cleaned, we laughed, and we had moments of sadness for our patients and their families. We worked as one team, all working in the same direction for the same cause.

This was just a window into the care that we provide but it is something that will stay with me forever and something I am committed to doing more of. I was struck by how much the In Patient Unit has grown and improved since I first joined Havens Hospices. It was impressive to see all the things we talked about and planned for, things like the amazing new handover, the new SystmOne, and the visibility-improving culture.

I am incredibly grateful for this experience and to our Care Teams for their dedication, support, and exceptional patient care—the kind of care that touches families for years to come and brings to life our mission to make every day count. I came away with a list of improvements to take to our Leadership Team, some of which are small, like better tea bags, but as I learned during the day, it’s the little things that make all the difference.

Thank you to Cher for supporting me throughout the day and for continually upholding the professionalism that we should all aspire to.

Published 22nd July 2024