Meet the CF Centre Team
Our Clinical Nurse Specialist team consists of Shirley Murray, Kate Foulstone, and Robyn Smith. Michelle Lowther works as a Clinical Support Worker and is also part of our team.
We are based in the Brearley Outpatients Department. We are the first point of contact if patients are unwell or need advice. We review and support patients on the ward, as ward attenders and at home. Our clinics run on a Monday morning, Wednesday afternoon and alternate Friday afternoons. Patients are given specific appointments in order to minimise cross infection. We would ask that patients contact us if they need to cancel their appointment so that the slot can be given to somebody else.
We can be contacted Monday to Friday excluding bank holidays from 8am to 4pm. Our contact number is (0114) 2266281.
- Shirley Murray
- Kate Foulstone
- Robyn Smith
- Sue Lloyd (CF Ward inpatients)
Our dietetic team at the Sheffield CF centre consists of 2 specialist dietitians (Sarah Thornton and Ailsa Milne) and a rotational senior dietetic post. You can contact us on (0114) 2714162 Monday to Friday. Please leave a message if we are not immediately available and we will return your call as soon as possible.
Good nutrition is essential for good health when living with CF. Dietitians play a vital role in providing nutritional support to achieve and maintain a healthy weight in order to promote good lung function. We support people with CF by:
- Providing individually focussed nutritional assessment and plans, which may include suggestions of nutrient dense foods and drinks, nutritional supplements and tube feeding.
- Advising on pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy and monitoring bowel symptoms.
- Support to identify and manage high or low blood sugars.
- Monitoring vitamin levels and advising on treatments.
- Support to maintain healthy bones.
- Support with hospital and home tube feeding. The CF dietitians are competent to change balloon gastrostomy tubes and monitor PEG sites.
As a dietetic team we aim to provide individually focussed support for people with CF in order that they can gain knowledge, skills and confidence to promote self-management of their condition.
Medication is an essential part of treating CF for the majority of patients. The CF Clinical Pharmacy Team make sure that all patients’ medicines are prescribed, supplied and monitored safely and effectively. The Pharmacy team includes 3 pharmacists, Tim Gleeson, Amanda Plummer and Avril Cherry, and Lara Oldham, a medicine management technician.
The team provide a service to patients beginning at the point of referral and continuing throughout their time under the care of the Unit. In addition to daily checks of all inpatient prescriptions, the pharmacy team is on hand to help with any outpatient clinic issues related to medication. Any medicines supplied by homecare are organised by the team. We recognise that people with CF may take a large number of medicines in various forms including tablets/capsules, inhalers, nebulisers and intravenous antibiotics. The pharmacists can help support you with this by providing advice relating to your individual treatments. They are also able to advise when medicines become temporarily unavailable, as often happens with some of the vitamin preparations and antibiotics.
If you wish us to contact the pharmacy team please leave a message on (0114) 2266281.
The physiotherapy team consists of our Clinical Specialist Physiotherapist (Charlotte Carolan), two senior physiotherapists and a junior that rotates into the team 6 monthly. We also have a specialist technical instructor (Charlotte Hinchliffe, and a physiotherapy assistant, Ian Hardman, that lead on exercise provision. To contact any of the team please call the CF ward on (0114) 2266580.
Physiotherapy forms a key part of the daily routine for patients with cystic fibrosis. The physiotherapy team will assist with:
- Airway clearance techniques: We have a wide variety of techniques such as: breathing techniques, the PEP, acapella and percussion that can be taught to the patient or their family and carers as required.
- Nebuliser therapy: Physiotherapist will deliver a test dose of medications and ensure you have the best nebuliser to suit your needs. We have a variety of different nebuliser devices that make taking treatment easier such as the i-neb or eFlow.
- Exercise therapy: As an inpatient patients are offered daily exercise Mon-Fri either in our ward gym or by providing equipment to exercise within a patients room.
- Postural advice: A range of postural exercises are offered to ensure good movement of the trunk and reduced posture related pain.
- Incontinence advice: We can discuss pelvic floor muscle exercises with patients or refer to the specialist incontinence services if required.
- Oxygen assessment and review: This may be for use overnight, in the daytime or during exercise.
- Non invasive ventilation support: This may be used as an airway clearance technique or to improve the quality of sleep overnight.
- Social support to help with performing everyday activities: We can refer to our occupational therapists who can provide equipment at home to make everyday activities a little easier.
Living with a long-term health condition such as CF can bring many different emotions with it. It can be challenging adjusting to changes in health and trying to stick to complicated treatment regimes. Whilst a certain amount of worry or upset can be normal when living with a condition like CF, sometimes these feelings become overwhelming and at these times, it can be helpful to meet a psychologist.
If you see a Psychologist, you will spend your first meeting thinking about what exactly would be best for you (for some people this is a space to talk, for some it is about gaining greater understanding about why they feel as they do, and for others, a practical approach is the best fit). You might have heard about psychological approaches such as CBT, Mindfulness and Compassion Focused Therapy; these can be tailored for use with people with CF in the CF Unit.
Within the CF service, everyone has an annual review. You might be seen by a psychologist as part of this or be asked to complete a questionnaire. Rachel Attfield is a Clinical Psychologist who has been in the CF Unit since 2009. There is also an Assistant Psychologist and you might also be seen by a Psychologist in Clinical Training.
Carers: We are aware that long-term health conditions often have an impact on the whole family. If parents and/or partners of people with CF feel they would like to meet with the psychologist (or find out about local alternatives), they are also welcome to get in touch.
Please contact: Dr Rachel Attfield, Senior Clinical Psychologist, Tel (0114) 2269784.
Everyone gets into difficulties at some time or another, but having cystic fibrosis on top of everything else can make some problems harder to solve. Our team of 2 part time social workers are happy to support and advise on a number of subjects. If we don’t know the solution to your particular difficulty then we are happy to do some research on your behalf.
The most common problems that patients ask us for support with are:
- Benefits: ESA, PIP, DLA, health related benefits; Completing forms; Preparing for medical assessments; Initial applications or reviews of entitlement; Supplying supporting letters; Challenging decisions.
- Housing: New registration for local authority housing and housing association property; Moving to more suitable property due to medical needs having changed; Homelessness.
- Employment: Liaising with employers; Giving employers information about the effects of cystic fibrosis and suggesting ‘reasonable adjustments’ under the Equalities Act (previously the DDA); Negotiating with employers around difficult work issues; Signposting employees to sources of information in regards to poor working practice/legal obligations/complaints and grievances.
- Education and Leisure: Signposting towards suitable courses/local leisure centres/discount schemes.
- Financial Hardship: Supporting with grant applications from local authorities and from national charities.
In addition to the above, we liaise with local authority social services and health services where patients have complex needs.
You can contact the CF social workers by ringing (0114) 271 5214. We are often working out of the office, but will respond to your message on our return.
Useful links
Leaflet explaining help with NHS health costs (travel, prescription charges etc): http://www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/Healthcosts/Documents/2015/HC11-march-2015.pdf
Form HC1, download version, to claim help with health costs if on a low income: http://www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/Healthcosts/Documents/2014/HC1-SC-April-2014.pdf