12 Taking care of your wellbeing Every day, our staff go above and beyond to care for our patients. Please take the time to also look after your own wellbeing: • 24/7 helpline (out of hours) contact Care First on 0800 174319 (24/7 service) for emotional and psychological support or access online via carefirst-lifestyle.co.uk; login details can be found on Freenet • Contact the Samaritans (on 116 123), NHS Helpline (111) or your GP • Cost of living worries can have a huge impact on our mental health – visit our financial wellbeing page on Freenet • Visit Freenet for a range of resources, information and other wellbeing tips 60 seconds with… Janev Hassan Service manager for phlebotomy for BH, CFH and Edgware Hospital What does a typical day look like for you? Phlebotomy is an extremely busy department overseeing blood tests for an average of 1,000 patients daily. In addition to our outpatient clinics, we deliver a service to the wards, the anticoagulant clinic and maternity patients, as well as Barnet, Enfield and Haringey Mental Health NHS Trust, to name but a few. A typical day for me starts with updating and submitting staffing levels and clinic capacity. I’ll also speak with staff to update them of any absences and ensure they are supported and working within a safe environment. If needed I will work in clinic. I’ll also respond to emails, liaise with clinics who may require urgent blood tests for their patients and oversee any unusual tests which may need special handling. Alongside this will be divisional meetings, pathology meetings and more! How are things changing for patients? Introducing the online booking system for phlebotomy from what was previously a walk-in service has been a huge change which has helped massively to reduce patient waiting times. There is a telephone booking system available as well but the bulk has switched to online, enabling us to deliver a far better patient experience. How can blood tests change lives? I have worked with the pathology clinical scientist and the genetics counsellor from North West Thames Regional Genetics Service to set up and organise a genetics test for couples who can be screened for the Tay-Sachs gene. This is a genetic disorder more commonly seen among people with Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry. More recently I’ve been taking part in the preparation for the NHS Galleri trial, a multi cancer early detection test. I also work closely with the acute liaison nurse for learning disabilities. Through them and the patients’ families and carers we get an understanding of what reasonable adjustments are required in our clinic to make the patient feel comfortable and safe. We are also updating an easy read blood test leaflet so that this patient group can be better informed. How is technology supporting the trust? In the Barnet clinic we piloted and set up a system called Salutare Clearinghouse, a paperless digital phlebotomy solution to combine all GP and hospital test orders into a single cloud-based platform which can be accessed anywhere. This system is now being used across the trust’s phlebotomy clinics so we’re no longer reliant on patients remembering to bring their paperwork with them. What are the challenges for phlebotomy? Due to the growing number of blood tests being done, as well as a rise in the number of patients who need their blood regularly monitored, we face challenges around space. There are 38 phlebotomists, two team leaders and me but we are facing a 30% increase in demand each year so we need to find solutions. How do you switch off? Outside work I enjoy visiting art galleries, going to the theatre, walking, and spending quality time with my family.
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