A day in the life of a ward administrator

8:00

I arrive at Sobell House – my morning begins with a handover from the night shift and a catch up with the morning shift coordinator and ward manager. A Pets As Therapy dog, Bertie, is coming in to visit our patients today. It’s such a joy to see patients (and staff!) enjoying Bertie’s company.

8:40

I greet our admin volunteer and provide a handover for the day. Today’s tasks include answering calls from families to find out how their loved ones are, helping a patient with a colouring in activity, and making a list of patients who could benefit from complimentary massage therapy. We have a team of volunteers who provide support on the inpatient unit from doing the rounds with the drinks trolley, to providing companionship to patients. We appreciate all of our volunteers so much.

8:50

I attend a meeting to find out who will likely be admitted to the inpatient unit, and which staff members will input into their care. We have 18 beds available on the Sobell House inpatient unit and having a multi-disciplinary team ensures we can support people’s physical, mental, and spiritual wellbeing.

9:15

I call a couple of bereaved families to offer our support and answer any questions they have. There is a lot of admin involved in someone’s death which can feel overwhelming; I try to do anything I can to help. One family member tells me that, along with their siblings, they are so grateful their mum spent the last few days of her life in Sobell, and they were deeply touched by the care and compassion shown.

11:45

It’s been a busy morning facilitating a fire safety audit, meeting a carpenter to install a fence to provide further privacy for patients in the garden, and training staff to use a new system that helps manage patient flow. My morning wraps up by helping with discharge documents, as a patient is going home.

12:30

I meet the husband of one of our patients who recently got married at Sobell. He asks if I can change the patient’s surname on their NHS record, which I am happy to help with.

13:00

I enjoy a moment of calm and offer my daily prayer in ‘The Sanctuary’, followed by homemade biryani for lunch.

13:30

The death of a patient requires a rapid release from mortuary because of religious obligations. I coordinate this to make sure everything goes smoothly, and keep the family informed with empathy and compassion. Before they leave, the family gather at the nurses’ station to say thank you for the care and help provided to make a difficult situation manageable.

14:15

The son of one of our lovely patients tells me his mum loves to see the birds on her window – it reminds her of home where she has a few bird feeders. We come up with a plan to help his mum watch her bird feeders live at home; I was happy to hear that I had ‘made her day’.

14:30

I book a transport risk assessment for a patient planning to go home in the coming days. I discuss this with a family member to inform them of the timings and what will happen next. They have some questions regarding the installation of specialist equipment at the property. I will share these with our therapies team.

14:45

I receive a call from a distressed family member who is not coping well with the death of their loved one. After a difficult conversation, I get their details and will refer them to our bereavement support service right away.

15:00

The medical team has completed several cause of death certificates, which I email across to colleagues so that families can register deaths in a timely manner. A patient then arrives on the ward, so I greet them and update their record. The rest of my day is spent ordering important information leaflets and updating patient records with admissions and discharges.

16:00

I change into my cycling gear, earphones buzzing with my favourite Bollywood song. Time to hit the road. I’ve worked at the hospice for eight years and every day is different, but it’s always a privilege to support people going through some of their toughest times.