In recognition of our #PalliativeCare Focus, our community multidisciplinary specialist palliative care team - Linda Willis, specialist physiotherapist, Orlagh Cunningham, specialist speech and language therapist, Maria Tynan, Macmillan specialist dietitian, Diane Brownlee, Macmillan nurse specialist and Niall Gallagher, social worker specialist - talk about providing care for people with life limiting conditions and how they look after their own physical, mental and emotional wellbeing.
In recognition of our #PalliativeCare Focus, our community multidisciplinary specialist palliative care team - Linda Willis, specialist physiotherapist, Orlagh Cunningham, specialist speech and language therapist, Maria Tynan, Macmillan specialist dietitian, Diane Brownlee, Macmillan nurse specialist and Niall Gallagher, social worker specialist - talk about providing care for people with life limiting conditions and how they look after their own physical, mental and emotional wellbeing.
Hi all, welcome to our podcast. This is Palliative Care Week and we're focusing on how our patients, families and carers can live better when someone has been diagnosed with a life limiting condition.
So while is this exactly why we are in the job roles that we are in, the purpose of this podcast discussion is to look at how we as staff, who provide care to these individuals, look after our own physical, mental and emotional wellbeing.
So my name is Linda Willis, I'm a palliative care physiotherapist, here within the community multidisciplinary specialist palliative care team, always find it very difficult to get that out in one breath and so it's my role today to glean all this useful information from my lovely colleagues that are with me. So I'm just going to get them to introduce themselves one by one. So we have -
Hello, I'm Orla, I'm a speech and language therapist in the palliative care team.
Hi, I'm Maria Tynan, I'm the Macmillan dietitian in the team.
Hi, I'm Diane Brownlee, I'm the Macmillan specialist palliative care nurse in the team. I'm Niall Gallagher, social worker in the team.
So just from the outset, what actually attracted you to work in palliative care?
I suppose as one of the newer members of the team, I keep saying I'm new even though I have been in and out of the team since 2020, I'll kick off, I suppose. I came in to cover a maternity post and I had thought that was actually a lovely way to dip my toe into the world of palliative care. It's one of those worlds that it’s either for you or it isn't.
When you mentioned that that's the team that you work in, people make that face
Yes the sympathetic nod.
Or are you crazy look. And that's okay. You know, some days I think they are all a bit crazy but it's it's something that I just embraced and it's it's such a varied role, no day is the same, you go out with your own objective for the visit and may come out and have done anything but achieve that objective, but you might have made a difference in so many other ways.
"And that's something when I first came that I saw and I loved, I kind of just I couldn't imagine not doing it then.
So when I went way back off from the maternity cover, then the post came up and I hummed and hawed honestly, but I just thought then I thought you know what, I knew it was for me then."
"And so it was a nice way to sort of dip my toe in.
I suppose the reason I say it that with the patients then, the feeling that you got, selfishly that feeling that you got, that wee glow, that you had did something that had helped.
And also the team as well and the supportive environment that has been created here over the years, then the experience that's within the team and that helps me as somebody relatively new into the world of palliative care."
Yeah, I just can't imagine being part of a different team now.
We're really glad you stayed Orla. And Niall that’s a bit like your experience, you dipped your toe in a little bit toe, didn't you?
"That's right, that's right Linda.
And I suppose my background was mainly been hospital social work and the opportunity to come up to work in palliative care within the hospital. And there wasn't a big demand to do it, so I stepped forward. I'm glad I did and I suppose what I find with palliative care is as a social worker, it's very aligned with social work values, the palliative care approach is a very holistic approach and you know, working with other teams and took towards the same goal. I also found that palliative care can be very creative and therapeutic and it's not it's not sort of procedure led and it also gives me a chance to inform others about the palliative care approach, yes as an education and help other teams.
And help other teams and, you know, sort of demystify what palliative care is, as, you know, when you realize it's about living your life as well as possible, you know, that really helps.
And Diane, you actually knew Niall.
Yes Niall and I met many years ago in Craigavon and work together and my background was in the hospital in general palliative care for many years. And then, I actually was working as a district nurse in community and was actually one of the district sisters that called me over one morning and I hadn't seen the advert and she said, that's the job for you, you need to apply for that.
So I had had that interest and, and caring for people with various cancer diagnosis, life limiting illnesses. So yeah I came into the post and community nursing for me is an area that I feel really comfortable in and I enjoy, I think it's an extreme privilege to go into someone's home and you see so much when you actually meet their family, know you're working alongside them at a time that they're very vulnerable.
And it is as just my extreme privilege to be part of that. Their needs are often very complex and there is that element, as you say, Orla of why would you want to be faced with death and dying? And there's that daily exposure of intense emotions. And I think that can be very challenging for all of us.
"But I think within our multidisciplinary team, you know, we are very good at acknowledging that, that challenge and that element of openness and respect and communication and support within the team, I think is quite special within our team.
And for me personally, one of the things that I find very helpful is that informal debriefing. You know, we've maybe had that difficult visit."
"You're maybe ringing ahead to say to your colleague, you know, I'll be half an hour and oh, that's been a tough visit and they'll say we'll have a cuppa and whenever you get into the office and we chat it over and that's what happens.
Our work can be very sad on certain days. Sometimes we I know I personally maybe sometimes come out of a home and I feel very heavy and sometimes, I do need a cry, whether that's in private or together back in the office. But this is also an offset with the feeling that hopefully we are making a difference to that individual and family. And we often say in this team, we have one chance to try and get it right and hopefully that’s something that I keep in my mind.
And I know Diane you have talked about tears and there is no doubt, our job is very often very sad and there are some very, very difficult situations. But to offset that, I think we are a team who really has a lot of humour, I know you would agree with that.
We do. We share tears, but we share a lot of laughter. And there's humour in death as well as in life. We definitely laugh a lot together.
But again, I think each of you probably have touched on this as well, but it is very emotional and challenging. And I know you and I, Maria, have a conversation on this on how can we cope with that constant emotional challenge on us?
Yeah.
People often ask, you know, how do you deal with death and dying day in, day out? And I as you know, I'm in the team now ten years. I'm one of the elder lemons. But when I came first to this team, a very wise, experienced and special Macmillan nurse and who actually died in 2019, she said to me, she said to me one day, Maria, you know, some days you do shine and other days you just don't feel so shiny.
And that's okay. So you're still making a difference. Tomorrow is a new day and and, you know, talk and share about how you feel. So that's something that within our team, we're all, I think, very aware of that.
Niall you talked about the team too?
The team is very supportive and I think we need to use the team. I suppose in the last year or so, we've started to have a meeting every day at 4:00. We call it the Daily Huddle where our team leads. It's very supportive and that will allow us to share any problems you have that particular day.
If we do have any, and it gives us a chance just to catch up and talk about a kiss and talk about something we've done that's new that that that others can learn from. And so we do find that very helpful.
It just gives you that ability, just you can nearly even tell because some of this body language is on the screen, whether things just aren't quite right and quite often you will get a phone call afterwards and say, I know you're struggling can we help you out.
And but I suppose as well to be able to look after others, you know, we need to look after ourselves as well as one another. And so, yeah, I guess at the other thing I need to mention is I am the health champion on the team. So my goal this year has been to try to help everybody take a lunch break or encourage them to take a lunch break because we're shocking at that. How’s that going Maria? It's not going so well!
Everybody eats at their desk. Dashboard dining. So But we need to try and get a little bit better. I did the other day. Yeah, well Niall you're good. Niall goes for a walk pretty much every day, which is great. Me the other thing that we chatted about and Niall is the importance of green spaces, we try to create an oasis.
I don't know if that's the word, an oasis of calm in the office with some plants that I've brought in over the years. So I've made an advance care plan and if anything should happen to me, I have left the plants to the care of Niall. So no pressure.
That’s probably not a good idea.
And Maria you said as well, as we had a laugh about it earlier about your personal way of trying to destress.
Oh yeah. I was making that that separation between work and your own personal home. Home space and life is so important, particularly in this job. So I find that when I get in the car in the evenings, I just put the I have an R&B playlist. I, I play it up full volume and I play it up the M1, the windows are vibrating!
Sometimes its radio four depending on how I feel. But yeah, that's so important. So by the time you get in home to the day, the day you sort of shaken off.
So we all have different than I know we talked about exercise and I myself find that very helpful and if you're listening today, I appreciate some of these things may be available to you, some or not and but just to make you aware that you can link in with occupational health if you're struggling and the trust actually offers free counselling through Inspired Workplaces that you can avail of.
"And I read a very helpful article recently, I should say, on bereavement and it came through on Google and as well mentioned, if you can link in with trust chaplaincy through switchboard and there's actually a staff support line that you can access as well.
So thank you so much for listening to us today. And we trust you find some of this information useful for you and your own wellbeing, as you look after patients, families and carers and provide really exceptional care on behalf of the Southern Health and Social Care Trust."
So thank you.