St Ann’s gears up to celebrate Allied Health Professions Day!

By Frances Brown – Rehabilitation Team Leader, St Ann’s Hospice

This Monday, everyone at St Ann’s Hospice will be delighted, once again to celebrate Allied Health Professions (AHPs) Day, a day dedicated to our Physiotherapists, Lymphoedema Team, and Occupational Therapists.

AHP is a term that encompasses a range of healthcare roles to assess, diagnose, and treat patients. We are the third largest clinical workforce in the NHS after nurses and midwives, and work as part of the wider multidisciplinary team.

As the Rehabilitation Team Leader here at St Ann’s Hospice, I know first-hand how important it is to recognise the vital work all our AHPs do to achieve the goals that matter most to our patients and help to maximise independence in people to self-manage their condition, as part of our rehabilitative approach.

We have 10 AHPs working here at St Ann’s who work in a whole breadth of different roles.

Our Head of Clinical Services Emma Barclay is also an Occupational Therapist with extensive experience in the role.

Emma has worked as an Occupational Therapist for 23 years in a range of health and social care settings.

She is passionate about high quality person centred rehabilitative palliative care, the value of Occupational Therapy and leading change as an Occupational Therapist.

This AHP Day is a great opportunity to share the extent of what we do, and to showcase the different skills that add to the mix of the whole multidisciplinary team.

At St Ann’s and here in the Rehab Team, we are really keen to focus on a person-centred approach.

We’re also always trying to learn and educate ourselves as AHPs, particularly here in St Ann’s. Bobby Magee, who is an experienced Physiotherapist at the hospice, is now training to be an Advanced Clinical Practitioner by completing a two-year Master’s degree. This is a great opportunity for Bobby and the wider team that he can bring his physiotherapy knowledge and experience into this senior role.

He has already slotted into the role and it has already been beneficial because he is bringing everything that he learns to the table along with his years of physio knowledge.

Below you will find short biographies of some of our team of ten AHPs based here in the hospice.

Lucy Kesek – Physiotherapist

Lucy is from Shropshire and has been working at St Ann’s as a physiotherapist since July, 2023. Her main day-to-day roles involve:

• Collaborating and liaising with the multidisciplinary team (MDT) to ensure patients are referred to and supported by the rehab team appropriately.
• Supporting patients to maintain their function and mobility as much as possible.
• Working with patients and carers to support them with what matters most, focusing on their quality of life.
• Ensuring regular review and providing individuals with mobility aids/equipment as required to maintain their function and independence.
• Supporting patients to achieve their goals.
• Supporting patients with symptoms such as pain and breathlessness, using a non-pharmacological approach.
• Supporting patients to return home safely, collaborating with Occupational Therapist colleagues to ensure appropriate equipment and adaptations are in place.

As a physiotherapist in the rehab team, Lucy works with patients to support them with what matters most.

“Physiotherapy at St Ann’s is important as we promote a Rehabilitative approach in palliative care; integrating enablement, self-management and a holistic approach to care,” Lucy said.

Lymphoedema Team

Fiona Sanderson, Lisa Wong, and Lucie Casserley make up the Lymphoedema Team here at St Ann’s Hospice and the team’s day-to-day duties involve:

• The assessing of patients for lymphoedema and lipoedema that are both cancer and non-cancer related.
• Creating care plans for patients.
• Educating patients to self-manage skincare, exercise, weight management and teaching lymphatic drainage.
• Undertaking intensive treatment such as bandaging for several weeks at a time.
• Working widely with other specialities such as GPs, district nurse, tissue viability teams, rehab, the Inpatient Unit (IPU), etc.

Bobby Magee – Trainee Advanced Clinical Practitioner

Bobby has a background in physiotherapy and is now undertaking a two-year Master’s degree, with support from St Ann’s to become an Advanced Clinical Practitioner (ACP).

The role of an ACP is designed to transform and modernise pathways of care, enabling the safe and effective sharing of skills across traditional professional boundaries.

ACPs are healthcare professionals, educated to a Master’s level or equivalent, with the skills and knowledge to allow them to expand their scope of practice to better meet the needs of the people they care for. ACPs work across all healthcare settings and work at a level of advanced clinical practice that pulls together the four ACP pillars of clinical practice, leadership and management, education and research.

Bobby is currently a trainee ACP while he undergoes his studies but still works in the hospice, bringing the new expertise he learns to the role.

His day-to-day duties as a trainee ACP include:

• Conducting patient assessments.
• Developing and adjusting care plans.
• Prescribing medications within the scope of practice.
• Performing clinical procedures.
• Collaborating with other healthcare professionals.
• Participating in multidisciplinary team meetings.
• Contributing to complex care decisions.
• Studying and researching to expand knowledge and skills.
• Shadowing experienced ACPs or physicians.
• Gradually taking on more complex cases under supervision.
• Providing patient and family education.
• Continuing to offer emotional support to patients and families.
• Helping to coordinate care services.
• Participating in quality improvement initiatives and service developments.
• Providing leadership and assisting in training other staff members.

Bobby believes that a Trainee Advanced Practitioner is vital for the hospice because they bring new expertise, enhance patient care, bridge gaps between nursing and medical roles, and help meet the growing demand for specialised palliative care.