Diary – A lighter take on the working week

Monday
I arrive in the office to find that my usual desk (not strictly my desk) is occupied so I spend the next 10 minutes shifting my computer, finding my chair and footboard, positioning my screen to the correct height and calming myself down. Then I contact a diabetic nurse about a client who insists on an alias that is the same as a Star Wars character. I then visit a property with someone from the housing department to assess its suitability for a client who is a wheelchair user. As I approach the front door I am confronted by a six-inch step. The property is a no-goer. My colleague from housing gives me a beautiful rose he has found in the garden. It now adorns my desk!

Tuesday
I arrive late and find myself repeating the “hot-desk shuffle”. The diabetic nurse tells me that I must address my client by his Star Wars alias name. Later, we have a team meeting with two members of the Remap panel. They give a good talk and show us slides of innovative inventions such as a one-handed egg cracker and a child seat insert for plane journeys. I visit a lady who needs to be referred for telecare. I am concerned about her safety in the aftermath of a seizure.

Wednesday
The team is on a manual handling course. I play a client who has fallen in a tight space. My three colleagues manage to slide me clear then hoist me onto a bed.

Thursday
My colleague from housing agrees to offer the property to another client. Both visits in the afternoon relate to specialist seating. The first is to a woman with severe pain in her right hip that stops her from sleeping in a bed. The next is a young man with a severe spinal deformity: his mother says that the chair is made for him!

Friday
I have supervision this morning. The subject of hot-desking features we talk about how to make it work. Ha ha! A seemingly quick visit this afternoon turns into something far more complex. My client lives in residential care and her needs have changed significantly. There appears to be conflicting accounts from management and care assistants about manual handling issues. It takes a while to unravel the facts. The manager shows me a copy of the council magazine that features the recent visit from our new chief executive. When will it be our turn?