Our People in Community Neuro-Rehabilitation Team

5 Minutes With Fiona Leonard, Senior Physiotherapist

 

How does your day start?

7.00am The alarm rings! Complete my Wordle and Connections, get up and dressed, breakfast and get the girls organised for school. Out the door by 7:50am for work start at 8am.

Tell us about the team you work with.

Our team works with those aged 18-65 years who have a neurological diagnosis and require 2 of the 4 therapies we offer (Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy, Speech & Language Therapy and Clinical Psychology). Clients and needs are so varied, I could be working with someone who has Parkinsons, Multiple Sclerosis, or a recent stroke or Traumatic Brain Injury to name but a few. Our work is client led, goal-centred and inter-disciplinary so the day could include goal setting meetings where we as a team get to meet a client’s family and those closest to them. Depending on the client and their goals, home and community visits could also be included. Clients usually attend for a number of therapy sessions each week over the course of about 3 months so we really get to know the clients and what’s important to them. I find it a rewarding time to work with clients as they are typically discharged from hospital and physically a bit more ready to build towards additional goals and generally get back to more of the activities which they enjoy.

What does your typical working day involve? 

8.00am The day starts with a catch up on emails, checking my diary for the day and preparing for the clients due in that day. Referrals screen: we have a team meeting to review referrals received to the service against the Community Neuro-Rehabilitation Teams referral criteria. We prioritise them and complete any associated admin whether it’s calling a GP or drafting an email or letter.

8.45am Commence client facing work. It’s typically a full day of back-to-back appointments.

1pm Lunch – we usually have lunch as a team which gives us all a chance to catch up in the midst of a busy day.

1.30pm Continue with client appointments and completing any outstanding phonecalls or admin work. We finish work at 3.30pm

3.45pm Home and start the second job of homework, dinner, housework etc! Drop and pick up from afterschool activities. I will always try to get some exercise in- walk, run, weights. A bit of TV and bed by 11.30pm.