18th June 2020
A day in the life: 24 hours in care
8:00
Ever wondered what happens at the hospice hour-by-hour? Today we’re taking you along with us to show you what #24hrswithcare looks like. Are you ready? Then we’ll begin! Nursing Team 1 start bright and early and go straight out to look after our patients in their homes. Good morning Wendy and Amanda!
Wendy and Amanda heading out
Our Griefline* also opens from 8am – providing 12 hours of signposting and support for bereaved people across Notts.
Here’s Debbie, ready to answer the line!
GriefLine advisor Debbie
9:00
Nursing Team 2 start now and also get out to our patients in the community. It’s tough going as key workers out there at the moment! Luckily we have some pretty cool signs, banners and posters to help keep morale up 🙂
10:00
During the mornings our teams go from home-to-home, supporting patients, giving practical care including washing, pressure care, ensuring medication is taken and making sure everyone is as comfortable as possible. Our teams answer questions and make sure that families know what they can expect and what future support might be available.
11:00
Our nurses are checking patient notes throughout the day. They work with GPs and district nurses and liaise with other support services regularly. This is to ensure that optimum care is reached via collaboration across these networks. They’ll be organising care plans for tomorrow too. Round-the-clock care takes a lot of planning!
12:00
It’s time for a socially distant cuppa and a catch up. Everyone reconvenes at 12-ish and discusses the morning briefly. Once a week we have an in-depth case conference including our physiotherapist Mel, our Hospice In Your Home manager Wendy and Hospice at home lead Felicity. Jodie is taking the notes. We also discuss patient care in this meeting. ☕️
13:00
Team 1 and 2 are back out in the afternoon to continue assisting families and patients.
14:00
You might not see it happening, but across Nottinghamshire all of our hospice services continue daily. We’ve changed the way we are working in many ways to follow the Covid-19 response but we are still helping people at the end of life, those caring for others and those who are grieving. We’ve launched new services to meet demand and amongst the nursing, emotional support, bereavement counselling, hospital discharges and therapies that happen across Nottinghamshire daily, there’s always lots to do!
15:00
Our nurses and healthcare assistants are working really hard on outreach right now to care for our families and patients again. They are making physical adjustments, giving personal and hygiene care, ensuring medication is taken and giving advice and care to reduce mental and physical distress. This is happening round-the-clock every single day. We guess that’s why people made us these awesome banners! The positive words and messages are really boosting morale and are helping to keep our team going!
16:00
Team 1 are finishing their day. Before they go they will complete their handover notes, ensuring the right information is passed to the next team, check the capacity of the service and ensure that we’re up-to-date with any new referrals. Thanks for your work today everyone!!
17:00
Team 2 are finishing after a long day. Thanks for your work today Team 2! See you soon!! Time to put your feet up, stick the kettle on and get some well-deserved rest.
18:00
Nursing through a pandemic: How’s your day been? Watch a video of our Day Services Manager Annette talking about her role
19:00
Our twilight healthcare team assembles at our base, the hospice. They get ready for a long and often unpredictable night but they are trained, prepped with PPE and ready! Hi Kayleigh!
20:00
Sarah is the lead nurse directing our Night Support Team. She was a registered nurse for 38 years and had retired from service. She re-registered as Lead Nurse of the Night Support Team after the NHS called for retired nurses to return to work. We think you are amazing Sarah! Good luck on shift and thanks for all you and your team do!
21:00
Our Hospice Night Support Team is starting their shift. They’ll be responsive until 07:00.
Here’s a clip of Debs arriving on shift.
22:00
The Night Support teams will work right through tonight and spend 30 minutes – 1.5 hr with each patient. How are you feeling about your shift tonight?
“It’s hard to say what’s helped us through the pandemic to this point. It has been an enormous effort, we’ve transformed services and launched our new twilight service. It’s great to be part of new developments. Our team have done and are doing everything possible to work diligently through this extremely testing time. That’s all we can do for now.”
23:00
The team are in and out visiting patients at the end of life who need them, but also provide emotional support and practical advice over the phone to family members who are anxious. The shifts can be draining both physically, mentally and emotionally. Patients’ needs change rapidly and the anxiety felt by the nation at present is shared by staff, patients and families alike. If you feel anxious then you aren’t alone. Let’s all keep supporting each other.
00:00
Are you still awake? We are. It may look quiet but we’re working every moment at the hospice. All of our patients are vulnerable with existing conditions which means they are especially vulnerable to COVID-19. Our teams must be prepared to be very responsive to rapidly-changing patient needs and to quickly adapt to changes in government guidelines. At the moment demand for our services is extremely high, staff are all doing extra shifts and this way of working requires a lot of goodwill and hard work.
02:00
At night we’ll see 90-100 people a week. Tonight, like most nights, we’ll make repeat visits to patients where necessary to ensure people are as comfortable as possible and the care they are receiving suits their often rapidly changing needs. This is really important to ensure people can have as planned and comfortable deaths as possible.
04:00
The early hours can be a very difficult time. Our teams allow families and carers to rest while they know their loved one is in safe hands. This little rainbow was drawn by a supporter and waits in the entrance of the hospice, welcoming us back to the hospice and bringing care staff some brightness even when it’s very dark outside.
06:00
The sun is now up… And it’s almost time for our night team to hand over to the day team. It has been a long night of ensuring that our patients have the right support in place, that practical care and personal hygiene are taken care of and that everyone is as comfortable as possible. See you soon Glyn!
07:00
Good morning! Have you started your day? We certainly have! Our handover and day shift starts and #24hrswithcare starts all over again. We won’t stop caring for you round-the-clock so if you can please don’t forget us. If you can then please support our forgetusnot appeal
We hope you’ve enjoyed this feature on our round-the-clock care. Find out more about our care services here.
*Griefline was set up to support people during coronavirus lockdowns and has therefore now closed. Nottinghamshire Hospice still provides bereavement support. Find out more here.