This Hospice Care Week (4-8 October) we are celebrating and recognising the work of some of our Hospice Heroes – the staff, volunteers and teams from the wide range of services offered by North London Hospice.
We care for more than 3,000 patients each year at North London Hospice both at home and on our inpatient unit. Annette is part of our Haringey community team that supports people living with life-limiting illnesses and their families at home.
As an Assistant Practitioner, Annette works alongside our community palliative care team which includes doctors, clinical nurse specialists (CNS), associate CNS’s and other health care assistants. “Under the supervision of a CNS, I look after a small case load of patients with less complex needs who I’ll see on a regular basis to review medication, organise support from outside agencies and offer general support and reassurance to them and their families. The length of time I support a patient can vary widely; it can be weeks to several years. It takes time to form a trusting relationship with them and their families. And when the time comes, it’s reassuring to a family to have a regular point of contact who understands their situation and wishes.”
Annette also carries out joint visits with the team when patients may have more complex needs and may benefit from a joint visit. There are times when Annette can support people with personal care when there may be a delay in the provision of carers by social services.
Annette joined North London Hospice in 2014 after 27 years with the London Ambulance Service followed by district nursing. “The privilege we have at North London Hospice is time…time to spend with patients and families….to get to know them and form relationships.
“The majority of patients are under our care for weeks or months, but I’ve supported patients for up to six years and they are referred to us with a wide variety of illnesses. Yes cancer, but many conditions such as heart failure, motor neurone disease or Multiple Sclerosis.”
The feedback Annette and her colleagues receive from families they have cared for shows the impact the hospice’s support has at the end of someone’s life.
“It’s a pleasure to work with families to make the end of someone’s life the best it can be. We’re there at their most vulnerable time and we never forget that is a privilege.”
Sinead Stack is North London Hospice’s Occupational Therapist. She works with patients to determine what activities are important to them and sets goals to help achieve them.
“Whether that’s staying in work, returning to work, gardening or maintaining personal care such as washing and dressing independently,” says Sinead, who is part of our Health & Wellbeing Centre team based at Winchmore Hill.
“Occupational therapy focuses on what’s meaningful to the patient, helping them identify their strengths and what’s important to them,” explains Sinead. She’ll use a variety of ways to help maintain physical and mental function as well as support patients with non-medical symptom management.
Sinead works with patients both on a one-to-one basis and she runs a number of groups which focus on management of the following symptoms; fatigue and breathlessness, falls and sleep.
During Spring she launched a table-top gardening group, where volunteers delivered boxes containing everything needed to patients’ homes and they met online to carry out the exercise. “Gardening is great for mental and physical function and it’s a very nurturing activity. There are great benefits to getting your hands in soil.” Participants have reported how great it is to meet with others to carry out an activity together, it is wonderful to create something and it helps you to relax.
Sinead has worked with patients at the hospice for three years and finds the role very rewarding, explaining that success with patients comes in all different ways: “One particular lady stays in my mind. Her priority was cooking. She wanted to continue cooking for her partner. It was her way of caring for her. But she was receiving chemotherapy and one of the side effects is sore and numb hands, so she was finding cooking a challenge. I worked with her to look at ways she could adapt her meal preparation and she was able to continue to doing something she loved.
Anne Mossack – Senior Social Worker at North London Hospice
The nine social workers and social work assistants are part of North London Hospice’s Patient & Family Support Team who provide a range of psychosocial, emotional, bereavement and chaplaincy support to patients, their families, carers and friends.
Anne Mossack is a Senior Social Worker, working as part of the Barnet community team.
“Relationship building and providing emotional and practical support is the basis of our work, perhaps best described as anything that’s not medical,” explains Anne, who’s been one of the hospice social workers for eight years.
“We also support people with advice on benefits and housing, signpost to other organisations, help trace family members patients have lost contact with, memory work and funeral planning. Our work can also be instrumental in helping families make special memories…we assist with organising weddings at short notice, holidays and bucket list wishes with the help of organisations like The Willow Foundation and Wish Ambulance.”
Anne joined North London Hospice as a volunteer in 1997 before embarking on a degree in social work, which she achieved at the age of 50. “I’m proof that it’s never too late to retrain! I’ve been a palliative care social worker for 17 years now and I consider it an absolute privilege. We can’t change the outcome for someone referred for hospice services, but we can walk alongside them and those around them.”
“We’re like swans …………everything is calm on the surface but underneath we’re paddling like mad to make things happen – providing emotional support and navigating people to practical services to help make lives a little easier at a very difficult time”.
“There have been so many instances where we have made a real difference to patients and families over the years. But one that stays with me is when we reunited two gentlemen in their 80s who hadn’t seen each other since the age of seven. That was a very special moment.”
Debbie ‘Deb’ Smith leads a team of nine housekeepers who play a vital, yet often unseen, role ensuring our hospice buildings at Finchley and Winchmore Hill are kept clean.
“When a patient and family arrive, it’s crucial that their room is spotless. We pride ourselves in knowing everything is just right for them,” says Deb, who’s overseen housekeeping at North London Hospice for two-and-a-half years.
Her day starts at 6.30am with the overnight laundry. “Everything is washed, dried and returned to patients the same day. Beds are changed daily. I love my job. The people I work with make it a very pleasurable place to work. There’s team spirit and compassion… it’s a lovely place and the recognition of the importance of the role of housekeeping, now more than ever, is great. Everyone knows how important we are to the running of the hospice. I’ve never experienced anything quite like the appreciation we get here before.”
When the pandemic began, Deb explains how the team put extra measures in place. “When covid hit we had to get used to a different way of working. Deep cleans happen regularly. Me and my team feel a responsibility to keep everyone safe.
“All 18 rooms are cleaned every day. Even the rooms that are not being used are cleaned, so that they are ready straight away when needed. After the laundry is done, we look at areas that need deep cleans, whether on the inpatient unit, in the rest of the building and at the Health & Wellbeing Centre. We have put in place extra sanitisation measures, such as cleaning door handles several times a day.
“We’re currently helping to choose new curtains and bed linen, which is very exciting and will give the rooms a fresh look.
“You feel it’s a job well done when you hear that a family have commented on their room or clean surroundings and it’s satisfying to know that in some small way, we’ve helped make someone’s time here comfortable.”
Jenni Bloch – Volunteer Hypnotherapist
Jenni volunteers within our psychological services team, helping patients develop techniques to cope with situations that trigger anxiety and stress as well as sleep issues and fatigue.
“Many patients have found hypnosis a really beneficial way to help with feelings of stress or anxiety that have developed during their illness. They may be anxious about medical appointments, scans or blood tests or finding it difficult to sleep and I teach techniques to help manage these feelings,” says Jenni, a former dentist, who’s interest in hypnotherapy began when she became aware of its benefits for nervous patients.
Patients are assessed by the hospice’s psychological services team and referred to Jenni, who will meet with them both individually and in small groups at the hospice’s Health & Wellbeing Centre or, since covid, online.
“The hypnotherapy sessions can also help some patients with symptom reduction such as pain, nausea and bloating.”
But sessions don’t involve a ticking pocket watch swinging before the eyes. “It’s not like stage hypnosis. We use techniques similar to guided meditation, work with the breath and the tone of voice to induce deep relaxation. The best results come when clients can let go of the real world and go back to a time they felt happy, relaxed and safe.
“I teach techniques to help them practice self-hypnosis, and this provides the tools to help them with the difficulties they face during their illness. You can never get rid of anxious feelings, but patients have found the hypnotherapy sessions can help reduce them.
“I find volunteering at North London Hospice a very rewarding experience. To be able to help people spend even 10 minutes of the day relaxing away from reality, is satisfying.”
