Our Team

Our consultant rheumatologists work with acute general hospitals and our unit to ensure the best possible care is given to each of our patients.  One of these consultants will be responsible for your care, and their role will include the coordination of your treatment programme with us.

Our consultant rheumatologists lead a multidisciplinary ward round each week, during which your case will be discussed with you.  In general, any treatment updates such as treatment change decisions, any additional investigations required and discharge dates are discussed and agreed at this time.

The Department is led by the Director of Nursing, AHPs & Quality and endeavors to provide efficient and effective quality nursing care to patients/residents and their families in line with the ethos and mission statement of the Hospice.

We embrace continuous quality improvement and the management of change, necessary to achieve our organisational objectives. The Department of Nursing is responsible for developing policy/guidelines in accordance with best practice in partnership with our multidisciplinary colleagues.

Our service is patient focused with an emphasis on providing a clean environment of care, ensuring best practice and improving clinical care standards while treating patients/residents with dignity and respect.

The department aims to enhance and develop nursing practices with the aim of providing a quality service. We promote/facilitate optimum learning environments for all our nurses recognising the increasing specialisation and complexity of the chronic disease model. We seek to empower our nurses to lead innovate and develop change where this will improve the quality, timeliness and safety of patient care.

To achieve this we have a central department of senior nurses who oversee quality and practice.  The team focuses on infection control, haemovigilance, tissue viability, practice development and quality standards.

The site management team of nurses also operate out of the central department to oversee day to day running of nursing and safety issues. All of this is supported by the risk and health records department who work as part of the team.

Our team includes nurses, clinical nurse specialists and an advanced nurse practitioner with a special interest and expertise in caring for people with rheumatic and musculoskeletal conditions.

Rheumatology nurses provide direct patient care and support to you and your families/relatives. Their aim is to help you with the management of any pain and/or reduced function symptoms.

The nursing team will educate you about your disease and assist with information about diagnosis and investigations. They also work with all other members of the healthcare team in planning your discharge and arranging suitable follow-up care when your programme of care with us is completed.

Our care assistants work closely with our nursing colleagues to help provide the nursing care and support that you may need.  They are here to help you meet your basic activities of daily living, such as bathing, grooming, toileting and dressing.  They will also help you follow the care plan agreed between you and the nurse and provide valuable feedback to the nursing team. There is always a care assistant, on duty 24/7, to help you with your needs.

Our social workers offer counselling and psychosocial support to assist with any social, psychological, emotional or practical issues you may have as a result of your condition. This may include talking through worries arising from the illness, providing information on local support services or advocating on your behalf.

Clinical pharmacists with a special expertise in our treatments visit Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Disease Unit patients regularly to review prescriptions, advise on treatments and support the multidisciplinary team. The pharmacist may check your medicines on admission and discuss them with you to ensure you get the best out of your medicines during your stay.

The aims of physiotherapy in the RMDU are to reduce pain and maximise function. We also aim to educate and support patients to independently manage their condition through the use of exercise. The physiotherapy treatment plan is based on a full assessment and is individualised to suit each patient’s needs. Treatment options include exercise therapy, manual therapy, electrotherapy and hydrotherapy.

Individuals with arthritis can experience difficulties that impact on their daily routines and lifestyle. The Occupational Therapist can enhance your independence and quality of life through assessment, goal setting and a therapy programme tailored to your individual needs and priorities. Working closely with you, we provide education and advice using arthritis self-management approaches and rehabilitative techniques to improve or maintain your participation in daily activities. We can explore many areas with you including joint protection, energy conservation, relaxation, anxiety management and pain rehabilitation techniques. The Occupational Therapist can also assess your vocational goals and provide advice regarding work role stability, return to work options, or consideration of future retraining or volunteering opportunities. If required, upper limb splinting can be provided to support function, ease discomfort and reduce pain. We can advise you on the use of assistive equipment to overcome difficulties you may be experiencing with everyday tasks. As appropriate, we can carry out a functional assessment with you in your home environment to maximise your independence and safety and advise you on any environmental modification that may be helpful.

Our catering management and staff aim to ensure that you have the best opportunity to choose foods that you like eating. Being a resident in the Hospice and having to fit in with set mealtimes is not always easy, and we will try to make meal times as comfortable for you as possible. Light refreshments are available throughout the day and specific diets and requests are also catered for.

Our Lady’s Hospice & Care Services is very fortunate to have a fantastic team of volunteers who freely give of their time to help with the smooth running of the organisation.  Each department has a team of volunteers, who have various roles, including serving morning and evening refreshments, organising transport when required and providing companionship.

The Patient Services team comprises of:

• Admissions office
• Clinical administration support staff
• Medical secretarial staff
• Ward clerks
• Healthcare Records Department

The Patient Services administration team work together to provide an efficient, quality based delivery of the administration function services to patients attending the various clinics, in-patient wards and outpatient units in the Hospice.

RMDU patients are referred to hydrotherapy by their physiotherapist.

A treatment plan is designed to complement their land-based programme. Exercises are performed by the patient, supervised or assisted by the physiotherapist, in a heated pool. It is suitable for both swimmers and non-swimmers.