A day in the life of a self-isolating Social Prescriber: day two

Hi again, it’s Megan, the Social Prescribing PCN Link Worker for Holderness Health at the Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trust.

Welcome to day two of my daily blog! I’m hoping that sharing my experience with self-isolation will offer some support and information to anyone who may be in a similar situation to me. I’m also discussing how I am trying to maintain as much routine as possible.

Last week, you may recall I rolled out of bed – day two was probably more of a shock! I was woken up around 6:30am by new colleague Bodhi (my dog) jumping all over me…however, I stuck to my normal morning routine.

Something that was different today was that I felt I had a big decision to make- what do I wear? This is something I am sure a lot of you will face and, as silly as it seems, for me it is actually very important. Getting into a normal outfit prepares me for the day ahead and I strongly advise getting out of your PJs!

Day two also involved concentrating on my surrounding environment. I decided to put some Health Trainer and Community Link posters in my work area to make it feel like I was somewhat in my normal work environment. I then began working on some admin, catching up on emails and checking my tasks for the day ahead.

I continued to call my clients, catch up with how they’re doing and, interestingly, a lot of them also asked me how I am doing! I thought that was wonderful and truly reflects how great things can be when communities come together and support one another through difficult times. I believe that it is so important to maintain that line of communication, especially to the elderly and most vulnerable, even if it is just verbal support. Sometimes someone just needs a good natter and to be asked – how are you doing?

The menu for lunch today is – a chive and onion bagel with low fat cream cheese, a banana, sweetclem, an actimel and a small glass of fresh orange! I can assure you the bagel looks burnt (it is!) but it tasted delicious (probably because I slightly overcompensated on the cream cheese…)

Following on from my lunch break, I had a Skype catch-up with one of my fellow PCN Link Workers. I feel as though Skype may become my new best friend over the coming weeks and will facilitate open communication with my Your Health team. I also had several telephone appointments with my community link clients to listen and offer some verbal support or sign-post if necessary, I think more than ever it is so important to make sure I am offering support and hopefully some comfort to the people most affected by Covid-19.

My top tip of the day is – make sure you keep getting some fresh air (even if it’s sitting in your garden for 2 minutes!). It really helps to ground you, keep you feeling refreshed and ready to get on with the next task. It’s also important to get up and stretch your legs from time to time.

Overall, day two of home working is going well. I’m trying to have regular breaks to get some fresh air, lots of water and the occasional chocolate digestive. My colleague Bodhi (my dog) has NOT been on his best behaviour today and decided my tea towel would be a great addition to his ever expanding toy collection…nevertheless, he is still the cutest doggo in the world. 

I’ll check in with you tomorrow to let you know how I’m getting on!

Thanks for reading :)

Megan.