Life as a Hospice Occupational Therapist

I started off my career a bunch of years ago as many do in a hospital, rotating through the various wards and departments to get a rounded experience of OT life. To further my knowledge base, I then spent some time working within a mental health setting, which helped me understand the cognitive challenges our patients face as well as the physical. This set me up nicely for a role in social services which I found myself in for a decade. I loved how varied and different each day could be, with each client bringing their own set of problems and difficulties to solve.

It was during this time that I had my first encounter with what I would consider an ‘end of life’ experience. This was a brand-new experience for me, and I spent several hours working with the family with practical tasks, moving furniture, getting a profiling bed in place and making the patient comfortable. I ended that working day feeling like I’d made an immediate and significant impact on that patient and their loved ones’ lives.

So, at the end of that day, I went home and looked up palliative care jobs. And that was the beginning of a whole new chapter in my career.

Since working at the Hospice, I have seen first-hand how a ‘positive’ death can have such a big impact on the patient themselves but also the family and friends left behind, but what does a ‘positive death’ look like?

Of course, patients want to be free from pain so working with them using medication, looking at positioning and complimentary therapies are all things the Hospice can offer to ensure they are comfortable. It is important to support patients and those important to them with coming to terms with their diagnosis, preparing them for potential changes and deterioration, and to support them emotionally and spiritually.

We’ve have probably all experienced bereavement, and often our memories go back to the last few months with us. OT’s can enable people to create memories and enjoy their time together, allow wives to be wives and husbands to be husbands rather than just a carer. We can help make transfers easier so they can still go out, or at least sit out of bed and enjoy their gardens. I remember one patient I visited was staying on our In-Patient Ward, she was in bed due to a pathological fracture of her femur. We worked to get her out of bed and using a sara stedy to transfer. Then when looking at discharge planning, the family talked about how much they loved going to the beach, but it wouldn’t be possible to get their mum in the car. We ordered an ambiturn and then worked with the patient and her husband to practice this transfer whilst putting no weight through her affected leg. It worked well and within a few weeks we had a letter to tell us about all the lovely trips they had been on!

I know a lot of people panic at the mention of referral to a hospice, because of common misconceptions about what we do. A Hospice can help a family to navigate the many health professionals involved, help to manage the symptoms that people may experience, and ensure that people are supported in making the right choices for them. Occupational Therapists play an integral part of people’s Hospice experience, and make a real difference to people and families at the end of life.