Mary Lee Tully: recreational therapist for people with neurological disabilities and older people at Peamount Hospital, Newcastle, Co Dublin
My day starts at 9.30 a.m. when I try to get ahead of administration work before people arrive at 10.30 a.m. for a variety of classes and therapies in the day care centre.
We offer music therapy, drama therapy, communication studies, art therapy, computer training and art and craft classes. It is my job to co-ordinate these activities and, when possible, I try to attend the classes to see how everybody is getting on.
We also offer outreach programmes twice a week to the elderly residents in the hospital where the teacher or therapist goes out to the patients in the unit.
In addition to this we organise a variety of social events such as quizzes and seasonal parties. Last week, for example, our creative writing group launched a booklet called Sin Scéal Eile containing their poems and stories. A music CD entitled Monday Morning was also launched.
Every three weeks I attend a meeting with nursing staff, physiotherapists, medical staff and social care workers to assess how each person is doing. I also have regular meetings with the residents themselves to see what they want. I work hard to tailor programmes to suit the clients' needs. I assess what is suitable for them and what they will be able to cope with.
On average we have 24 people attending different sessions in the centre each day. Some 95 per cent of the clients are wheelchair-bound due to an acquired neurological disability or multiple sclerosis.
The idea is to give them something to look forward to, a reason to get out of bed. In their condition it is very easy to get down, but their needs are simple - they want normality. With the activities we try to develop new talents and re-direct old ones. The long-term hope is that some of our clients will be able to move on to a more independent life in the future. We have one session in the morning and one in the afternoon. On Tuesdays the clients stay here for lunch.
Although I am only supposed to be working a 20-hour week I always find myself working a lot of overtime as well as bringing work home. It's the same for the teachers and therapists who come in. If they are scheduled for a two-hour session, they always end up staying for three.
Coming to the centre is a form of escape for the residents and there is always a very relaxed atmosphere here. For them it is like a place of work as well as a place of enjoyment. Some of the classes we offer are in conjunction with Dublin VEC and many are working towards FETAC-accredited awards.
With the internet, a TV and video room and a place for a cup of tea and a chat it is a place for residents to have contact with the outside world. They tell me that they feel challenged here and are less aware of their disability.
Some residents come here early in the morning and very often they stay late. They would like the centre to be open in the evenings and at the weekends but at the moment this is not possible.
Part of my job is to liaise with other stakeholders such as the Central Remedial Clinic, the VEC and the health board, but we also have very strong links with the local community. Local business people, for example, funded the construction of the day care centre and are always very supportive of our work here.
I find my work very fulfilling. My brother died as a result of a head injury 12 years ago and this had a huge impact on my life. I always look at people and think, "they could be Christopher". This motivates me to give them the choices and chances to make their life better.
(Interview by Fiona Tyrrell)