By Michelle Henderson
Our Myqufora team comprises highly knowledgeable product specialists with extensive experience in supporting patients on their irrigation journey. This month, we spoke with team members Naomi and Beverley about a patient they have been working with for the past ten months.
Naomi shares that when she first started working with this patient, the patient was extremely anxious about starting rectal irrigation. Despite several follow-up calls, the patient wasn’t making progress and was too embarrassed to answer the phone. Naomi says that “understanding the patient’s past experiences helped me to empathise with the patient’s anxieties and fears”. She then implemented a plan that would help the patient overcome their anxieties and start making progress with irrigation.
Naomi took small steps with the patient, such as focusing on opening the box one week, and then putting the kit together the next. Each time, Naomi would talk the patient through the process and offer reassurance. She even set up weekly calls at the same time to check in with the patient and see how she was getting on. Initially, the calls were quite long, but as the patient started making progress, the calls became shorter.
Beverley got involved when Naomi was going to be out of the office for a week. She says that the patient initially only wanted to speak with Naomi, but Naomi took the time to explain that Beverley would be supporting her while Naomi was away. Beverley adds that her training helped her understand why the patient was having trouble getting started with irrigation. She knew that one of the patient’s barriers to using irrigation was being advised to use it 20 minutes after breakfast. However, since the patient didn’t eat breakfast, she had not been able to follow this advice. Beverley suggested having a hot drink instead to activate the gastro-colic reflex, and eventually, the patient started using the irrigation.
The patient is currently irrigating twice a week, and the team is working on increasing the frequency. They have a regular schedule of calls and set goals for each call. Naomi and Beverley say that they have built a great supportive relationship with this patient and she has told them how much their support has helped her stick with irrigation.
The Myqufora team is dedicated to providing the support that patients need, whether it’s routine follow-up or more individualised support like in this case. They are flexible in offering what patients need for successful irrigation. This case highlights the importance of offering understanding, taking small steps, providing consistent support and building a strong relationship with the patient to help them overcome their anxieties and succeed in their irrigation journey.
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