Living with
Haemophilia
Professional view
A Day in My Life - Anne South
Physiotherapist, Anne South, shares her thoughts on haemophilia care.
What is your role in the multi-disciplinary team?
I am the senior physiotherapist for the haemophilia service at the Leeds Comprehensive Care Centre, which means that I look after the musculoskeletal health of patients.
What are your day-to-day responsibilities?
I monitor and maintain healthy joints and muscles and look after the general wellbeing of the patient, which covers two things, the pro-active part and the re-active part. The re-active part is to help to rehabilitate joints and muscles after a bleed and the pro-active part being the preventative side of things. That means keeping people fit and active and preventing a lot of joint and muscle bleeds, giving a lot of advice and education on what exercise is best taken up and what exercises not to do. We encourage activity generally but we also advise on more specific things such as central dynamic stability, biomechanics, sport technique to prevent injury occurring, and to reduce the risk of bleeds.
My preventative work means that I provide education and advice not just to the patient but also to parents and schools etc. and if the patient can access physiotherapy more locally (in their local hospital), we would educate the physiotherapist themselves about haemophilia.
How long have you been doing the job?
I started the job eight years ago when it was a part-time service, only 12 hours a week. About 3 years ago it became a full time post so I job share with a colleague so that we can cover every day of the week.
What first sparked your interest in haemophilia?
My interest was sparked by the role itself as I was looking for a part-time role that was part of the multi-disciplinary team and that looked at the total care of somebody. I wanted to have a position where I had a long-term input. In addition, in haemophilia itself, from the point of view of a physiotherapist, you can really make a difference to long-term health and wellbeing.
Can you describe a ‘typical day'?
In a typical day most of my time is spent seeing patients, both adults and children, following up and doing reviews. After this I spend time collecting all my messages and then I would also deal with any issues that arise, for example if someone comes in with a bleed or a problem. I liaise with them and the rest of the team, contacting the relevant people, for example local hospitals, schools etc. with letters.
't happen very often, we fit in time to see them.
Most of my job is patient contact.
What is the greatest challenge in your job?
My greatest challenge is encouraging appropriate self-management to ensure patients' long-term health. It is making people understand how to avoid a cycle of bleeds or problems and how to look after their bleeds properly.
What is the most rewarding part of your job?
The most rewarding part of my job is when I see someone through a difficult period or a problem and they actually get to grips with it. They understand what they need to do and through the physiotherapy and taking their prophylaxis they get back to having good function in their joints and muscles so that they can lead an active lifestyle without problems.
