A day in the life of Alison Bailey

A Day in the life of...

Alison Bailey, MFHT, Complementary Therapy Lead at Weston Hospicecare...

6:30am – I start my day by doing some stretches or yoga and saying a positive affirmation. Afterwards, I go downstairs and make myself a cup of peppermint tea with a bowl of fruit.

8am – I arrive at work, make sure all the therapy rooms are prepared and review my patient medical notes. This is an important part of my role, as changes can often occur when working in a palliative care setting.

I attend an online meeting with a multi-disciplinary team consisting of doctors, a chaplain, counsellor, family support manager, physiotherapist, occupational therapist, service leads and nurses from the community as well as in-patients. We discuss a patient handover, referrals and I allocate a volunteer therapist to a client (most of my team are inactive due to the pandemic, so I currently have six volunteers who are able to provide support). After the meeting, I triage new referrals by phone and book appointments.

10am – I provide my first treatment or deliver a Zoom session and my volunteers are allocated a client, who could be a patient or family member. We provide a variety of therapies, depending on the needs of the individual - from reflexology to hypnotherapy. I make the time to meet with the team before and after their treatments as I believe supervision is valuable in our field of work. Due to the nature of working in palliative care, medical or emotional concerns are sometimes mentioned by the patient during treatment, if so, I refer them for additional support.

A typical day also includes Zoom calls, so that we are still able to reach out to a patient if they are unable to come into the centre. I may provide relaxation or hypnotherapy for a bereaved person finding sleeping difficult, or a patient who is unable to come to terms with their changing appearance. The best part of my day is interacting with patients and their families, listening to them and providing the peaceful calmness that they desire. Feedback suggests how the service can support people at so many levels, physically and emotionally.

12:30pm – I take time for lunch. If possible, I like to go outside even for a short while to clear my mind ready for the next client.

1pm – I meet up with the therapists beginning the afternoon shift and provide them with updates, making sure to hand over any changes. I then allocate them a patient - when day hospice is running, I will allocate day hospice patients or a patient in the community if I feel it is safe to do so. While my therapists are carrying out treatments, I complete admin duties - today it is report writing, but on other days it might be updating risk assessments or policies, or completing training with volunteers.

4pm – Time to wind down and prepare for the next day. I ensure all client notes are completed on the system and meet up with housekeeping to inform cleaning duties. Before I go, I write a list ready for the next day, as it helps to be prepared.

5pm – For my relaxation I either go to the gym, run on my treadmill or go for a walk on the beach close to where I live - sometimes I borrow my son’s puppy, which is lovely. T

The best part of my day is interacting with patients and their families, listening to them and providing the peaceful calmness that they desire

Alison Bailey, MFHT