A challenge or piece of cake? Being person centred in a hospice environment.

 The opportunity to begin the introduction of looking at how person centred our practices is at St Clare Hospice is too good to miss. Starting with the use of my one page profile #Onepp (1PP) as I began my current role I wanted to expose my new colleagues to what is a different way of thinking about care. 

Why bother when we could say we practice the best holistic care with all our patients? 

I am concerned that holistic care is a blanket term for care structures and processes that are uniform. The care cannot be person centred if the same care model is used in the same way for all. Being person centred is about making what is important to the person central to planning and organisingtheir end of life care, and crucially the person concerned is involved in the preparation. So whilst taking the same approach to care planning the result is individualised care that is set up around what works and what does not for each person. 

In the following stage I have begun work with the inpatient unit team to review just how person centred the unit practice is. We are using the Progress for Providers – End of Life tool from Helen Sanderson Associates to see how person centered our current practice is. This is available electronically too. The group are meeting and working through the tool; I am letting them take the lead so they are ready to own the action plan and next stage of work. 

At the same time I’m seeking support from senior managers and our Board to make sure they understand what we are doing. Once we have completed the assessment stage we can use the tool to create the action plans and priorities for action. The intention is to spread the use of the tool across all our services at St Clare Hospice as we take on an increasingly person centered approach.

I find this an exciting time as teams look afresh at what they do and how they perceive the care they give. I believe it will help us see the relationship we have with those who use our services in a new light as we focus on the person who needs support towards the end of their life. I look forward to telling you more as we progress. And at that point I hope we will be ready to face any challenge, and being a hospice be armed to face it with plenty of cake.

Philip Ball

Director of Patient Care, St Clare Hospice, Hastingwood, Essex.

Being a person-centred pin-up! Using my one page profile or #1PP

Going back to November 2014 I wrote about work, cancer and the power of support from friends who know me. It's about time I said more about recent events, including becoming a pin-up!
Before that, what about the cancer business? Well, further recent extensive biopsies are still negative; the relative trauma of the MRI felt easier. We watch and wait, keep taking the tablets.

What about work? I've had a fantastic time in the Quality team at Sue Ryder learning more, and being part of a diverse team whose complimentary skills and friendships have been invaluable. I was keen however to get back to a hospice based post, as that has always felt my true professional home. In the meantime I have kept up my interest in being person-centred, including updating my one page profile. You can find out more about the 1PP here via Helen Sanderson Associates.

Having been recently appointed Director of Patient Care at St Clare Hospice, Essex, I took copies of my #1PP on a pre-start visit and handed them out. The 1PP was greeted warmly and a volunteer happily demonstrated having read it by referencing my love of dark chocolate when we finally met. Towards the end of that visit a new colleague brought me a handwritten version of their 1PP that they had put together during the day. They were keen for me to know how best to support them and to know what is important to them. Of course I had to say they needed to find out what people appreciate about them too. Nonetheless I was pleased at the impact being so open was having.

As I write I have finished week one in the new role; checking with those I've met for the first time, they tell me they have all seen and read my 1PP. Being in a new workplace brings its own challenges such as finding your way about and who is in which office. One place I quickly found was the upstairs kitchen/copier room, where I can make drinks and pick up printing. It's been a good place to greet people too. It was only yesterday, day 5, that as I looked about the room in more detail that I realised a copy of my 1PP was pinned to the notice board! I was thrilled that a new colleague had taken the initiative; getting more 1PPs into place is the next task. Continuing the theme I have made sure I have made and delivered hand written thank you notes to those who have given me their time this week; on Monday morning I'll be taking the opportunity to use a person-centred approach to an important meeting.
Being a person-centred pin-up though was not quite what I expected, though I think it says much for the warmth of my welcome, and the energetic spirit of St Clare Hospice that it's become a reality.