#TeamNorthMid blogs

My name is Shakil Patel and I am a highly specialised orthoptist based in the ophthalmology department. I have been with our North Mid family for seven years now, and I’m proud to be a member of staff at this Trust.

My first posting was at Salisbury District Hospital in 2008, the same year I graduated from the University of Liverpool. I learned so much about my profession and gained valuable experience within the Trust.

The job was enjoyable and I made several friends for life but there was a certain “something missing”. So when I saw my current post come up on the NHS jobs website, I jumped at the chance to move back home to be closer to my friends and family. I applied for the job straightaway and luckily, I was offered the job. I’m glad to say I’ve never looked back.

 

Growing Up

I spent a lot of time visiting my older brother (pictured as children) in hospital as he suffered badly with asthma (thankfully he is much fitter now and over the worst of it). I would go and see him on the ward during visiting hours and see the doctors and nurses at work, and how they interacted with the young children. I knew then and there that I wanted a career in healthcare.  

So when it came to applying for my course at university, I said the two things that it must offer me is the opportunity to work in a hospital setting and with children.

I didn’t have a clue what an orthoptist was, but my biology teacher at sixth form advised me to read up on the course and the rest as they say “is history”.

 

What is an orthoptist?

My job involves diagnosing and treating eye movement disorders. This involves seeing children with glasses, squints and lazy eyes. But also involves working with adults with eye movement disorders that can give rise to things like double vision, headaches or eye strain.

If I had to choose the best part of my job it is definitely seeing all the cute children and babies. No matter how busy or stressful the day may be, I always leave with a smile on my face. Being told that “he/she always looks forward to seeing you” by parents always makes my day.

 

Proud to be an AHP

Being an AHP (Allied Health Professional) allows me to deliver a high level of care to patients that might not always need an input from a doctor. The downside to this is sometimes that our roles are not understood, or well recognised as we’re not “doctors or nurses”.

But as orthoptists, physiotherapists, occcupational therapists, dieticians (the list goes on!), we are in a privileged position to show our knowledge and understanding of complex conditions and deliver a great service to patients to improve their overall health and wellbeing.

Being specialists in our own areas means we are often in a better position than general doctors to treat our patients. What we do as AHPs should be celebrated and hopefully we can continue to raise awareness of who we are and what we do moving forward in the Trust. 

I’m grateful that I have been able to advance my career in such a short space of time. Going from a new graduate orthoptist in my first year in 2008, quickly moving to an advanced orthoptist within the same posting in 2012 where I was fortunate enough to be trained to learn additional skills such as working in eye casualty, seeing cataract patients after surgery and even running some glaucoma clinics.

Since my post here in 2014, I have effectively become a deputy head orthoptist, something I don’t often mention but that my line manager (Nabil Uddin) is quick to remind me of. It has given me more responsibilities - both clinical and non-clinical - such as organising teaching sessions, consenting patients for surgery, being in charge of stocks and supplies, helping set up clinic timetables and much more. I feel proud to know that my manager trusts me to take care of things in his absence, and having this level of support around you can only be a good thing.

 

Challenges

The biggest challenge I have faced in my career thus far came from my first posting at Salisbury District Hospital. Unfortunately, the local area was not a diverse as North Mid’s. I felt uncomfortable when on two occasions I was asked “where are you from?” with London not being a good enough answer.

I knew exactly what and why I was being questioned but, this didn’t deter me or change the way I treated these patients. I remained calm and professional.

Thankfully, this is something that I have not encountered here at North Mid and I think this is simply because our workforce better represents our local community.

My team

I work in a large department with a diverse workforce of varied ages, ethnicities and genders. I’m fortunate enough to be part of such a hardworking team that always strives to deliver the best care for our patients. Even when we are busy and rushed off our feet, or even short-staffed, we somehow manage to raise our levels to keep delivering such a high level of care.

Despite sometimes being constantly busy, we still manage to have a laugh amongst ourselves whether it is a consultant, nurse, HCSW, technician or a receptionist. We appreciate each other’s hard work and efforts to ensure that we provide the best possible experience for our patients.

North Mid is definitely a diverse workforce and this reflects the community we serve. I think it is important for staff and patients to know that their thoughts and opinions are heard. The best way to learn about diversity is to surround yourself with people from all different walks of life. Here at North Mid I think we do that well.

Coming back to an earlier point that I made that there was “something missing” I’m proud to say that since being back home in London I have married and that my wife and I are expecting our first child in December. Fingers crossed that the baby doesn’t have any eye issues but if so, I’d like to think they’re in safe hands!

 

We wish Shakil and all of our brilliant AHPs a happy AHPs Day for Thursday 14 October 2021!