Meet Kate Hussain, star of BBC Two's Hospital documentary
Meet Kate Hussain, Team Leader of the Children’s Occupational Therapy Team. You might recognise Kate from working with Spencer on Episode 5 of BBC Two’s ‘Hospital’. Kate and the Long Term Ventilation Team visited Spencer’s new potential home to check it was suitable and helped the family with their housing application, liaising with the County Council. We sat down with Kate to find out a little bit more about her.
How long have you worked at NUH?
I qualified in 1998 and joined NUH in 2000. I initially came on a six month fixed term contact in the Emergency Department (ED) and then ended up staying there for eight years. I joined the Children’s Hospital in 2010 after a secondment with the community COPD team. Since joining the children’s Occupational Therapy team I have completed addition training to enhance my clinical skills including a paediatric Bobath course.
How does working in the Children’s Hospital differ from the ED?
Working with children is very different, there is more time to build relationships with the patients and their families. In ED there was such a quick turnaround. Both areas are fundamentally about promoting independence. Within ED the focus was on supporting discharges home, promoting independence in self-care and domestic tasks. For children it’s more about giving them the opportunity to develop, promoting independence in play and learning and supporting them to get back to home and school.
Have you always wanted to be at Occupational Therapist?
Since I was 16. My mum read an article about it in a magazine and suggested it to me because I always wanted to do something within medicine. I actually did work experience at NUH when I was younger. It was very different back then, but some of the staff are still here.
Who has been your most memorable patient?
There are so many patients and families that I will never forget, as you work so closely with them. However, there was a little boy who was on the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit with meningitis and he had to have lots of amputations. He crawled for the first time in our therapy gym and that was such a special moment. Now when he comes back into hospital, he is so independent, it really is amazing to see. Despite his disabilities he doesn’t let anything stop him.
What is the best thing about being an Occupational Therapist?
I really enjoy the opportunity to think creatively and problem solve. We look holistically at the family and the child and work with them to come up with the right solution that works for them. I also really enjoy building those relationships and getting to know the families really well.