Saturday 8th July 2023 marks International Paramedic’s Day and at Isabel Hospice we are fortunate to be one of a few hospices to have experienced paramedics within our clinical teams as part of our service.
18 months ago, Alex joined Isabel Hospice as a Clinical Paramedic Specialist within our community team. Having spent over 10 years in the ambulance service he was no stranger to end of life and palliative care but knew this role presented a unique opportunity.
Alex reflected “When this job came up I thought, I hadn’t seen anything like it before and really like the idea of specialising in this area”.
As a CPS Alex’s role is a dynamic one. His work involves supporting palliative and end of life patients that have been referred to Isabel Hospice for symptom control and pain management. This involves visiting and providing holistic assessments in the patients home or Isabel Hospice’s Nurse led clinics.
Each patient’s needs are complex and unique, and Alex is not only able to create the most effective plan for their medication but also utilise a multi-disciplinary approach working with other service providers to identify and subsequently fill any gaps missing in a patient needs and care. Alex said “we are able to link everything together for our patients and be an extra layer of support for them. Our patients have said how much they value this”. Alex’s work is similar to that of our Clinical Nurse Specialists (CNS’s), they all work together on the front lines of our community palliative care team.
“During 2022/23, Isabel hospice supported 1,443 patients and 451 family members. The majority of patients (89%) were supported in the community by our Hospice at Home team, Clinical Nurse Specialists and Paramedic Specialists, Living Well with Isabel day services in Bishop’s Stortford, Waltham Cross and Welwyn Garden City, Compassionate Communities programme and Family Support team.
When asked what element of his work he loves the most, Alex said “it’s so rewarding when you create a plan for someone’s care, you implement it and you genuinely improve someone’s situation. “We are all about improving the quality of life and relieving suffering”.
Furthermore, upon reflecting on the misconceptions of hospice care, Alex said “People think that that’s kind of it for you once you’ve been referred to us, whereas actually it doesn’t mean that your care ends at all, we are here to provide reassurance and extra support that is going to try to help you live better.”
Many people will find it difficult to talk about death. Alex has seen first-hand from being in the ambulance services the difference hospice care can make. He said, “my experiences in the ambulance service has shown me how devastating an unplanned death can be for the patient and relatives. Having discussions with healthcare professionals beforehand allows a person to have more choice and control over what happens to them at the end of life. Advanced care plans explain their preferences and priorities of future care and help to prevent unnecessary admissions to hospital and unwanted treatments”.
Alex looks forward to continuing to work in hospice care and reflected on why this area of healthcare is so special. He said “That time in peoples live can be quite a lonely place and people feel very understandably stressed and upset. You can go there and be that extra support they need at this difficult stage of their journey, it is very rewarding.”
