For Assistant Practitioner Jo Brodie individual patient care is at the heart of every working day.
Jo specialises in the use of the Integrated Palliative Outcome Scale (IPOS), which is the latest approach to understanding individual patient needs.
“I always say that IPOS is a way of the patient being heard,” she says. “It’s a way of talking to them, chatting with them, building a relationship, developing a sense of trust and at the same time learning what they need and want.”
Through that regular level of interaction – asking the patient about areas such as pain and discomfort levels – the information can then be passed on to the weekly Multidisciplinary Team (MDT) meeting.
“It’s an effective way of allowing the whole team to see how a patient is feeling about their care,” Jo says.
“It’s the patient that counts and it’s the patient that is our number one priority and the effect that IPOS makes really can make a big difference.”
“You ask the same questions three days later, after their medication has been changed for instance, and you will see a change in the scores, they will be more relaxed, they will have less pain and be less anxious.”
And it’s not only medical concerns that can be raised and addressed by the IPOS system.
“We had one gentleman who was worrying about his dogs,” Jo says. “He raised that with me and once he knew the dogs were being properly looked after you could see the difference.”
“I just love my job! I get up in a morning and I actually enjoy going in to work because I know I will be making a difference to somebody.”
“The patients know that somebody is listening to them – and some days that’s all it takes to make you feel better.”