Q&A with ellenor's Occupational Therapist

This week is #OccupationalTherapyWeek (5 – 11 November) which celebrates the profession and aims to educate people about the benefits of occupational therapy. We spoke to ellenor’s Occupational Therapist, Lindsay Pyne, all about her role and why occupational therapy is so important for people with life-limiting illnesses.

Q: What is a typical day for you at ellenor?

A: “Every day is different! I’m often out and about in the community as well as assessing patients in the hospice. For example, I might go to a patient’s home for an access visit which is to determine what needs to be done before they can come home. I assess whether their home environment is suitable and if they need any equipment or adaptations to enable them to live more independently.

Q: What are some highlights of your role?

A: “I have only been working at ellenor for six months, but there are so many it’s difficult to choose. One highlight in particular was recently, I helped a patient who told me that she wanted to be able to enjoy her garden over the summer but had difficulty accessing it. I was able to install some ramps in the garden and also provided her with a wheelchair. She then invited me to visit along with her family and everyone enjoyed an ice-cream in the garden; it was a really special moment.

Q: What are some difficulties of your role?

A: “Not having enough time as there are so many people who could benefit from Occupational Therapy! It’s also challenging to educate people on what occupational therapy actually is; quite often people think it’s the same as physiotherapy, but they are very different. Occupational Therapy is more concerned with ensuring people have quality of life and be as independent as possible with tasks in and out of their home.

Q: What made you want to become an Occupational Therapist?

A: “Initially I wanted to be a nurse, then a physiotherapist and finally I decided to study to become an occupational therapist instead as I found that you can be more creative. I’m a very creative person and as a child if I was unwell I would do crafts, so it was from a young age that I realised the benefit of occupation on health. It’s also really satisfying to enable people to enjoy particular hobbies, for example a patient I’m seeing at the moment loves playing boules but finds it difficult to play whilst in a wheelchair - so I’m hoping to provide him with a wheelchair that has a removable arm. It’s a really interesting role as you need to be imaginative because everyone is so different with different goals.

Q: Why is occupational therapy important in a hospice setting?

A: “Occupational therapy uses a holistic approach so you’re taking the whole person into consideration and thinking about how their illness affects their whole life, from brushing their hair to making a cup of tea or going shopping. I think about what the person wants to do, not just what they need to do, and find out what really matters to them to ensure that they have the best quality of life possible. It feels really special to be able to help someone achieve a goal that really matters to them, like eating an ice-cream in their garden on a sunny day or enjoying a game of boules.”