Jamie-Lee Phillipson – Foundation Degree – Healthcare Play Specialist

Name: Jamie-Lee Phillipson

Course Name: Healthcare Play Specialist

Course Type: Higher Education

Image caption: NWSLC female adult student Jamie Lee Phillipson
Student Jamie-Lee had to overcome the unexpected challenges of dealing with the coronavirus pandemic as part of her role as a healthcare play specialist in one of London’s major trauma centres at St Mary’s Hospital in London.

Jamie-Lee started her job during the second year of her Foundation Degree in Healthcare Play Specialism while continuing to commute to NWSLC’s Nuneaton Campus each week to complete her studies. In March 2020, Jamie-Lee’s working life changed dramatically when COVID-19 brought in sweeping restrictions.

Jamie-Lee said, “When Covid hit the NHS, all the playrooms were closed at St Mary’s. We were faced with the challenge of bringing play to children and young people in our care without the usual facilities. We had to keep patients socially distanced from each other, working at their bedsides, and we started using a lot of PPE which some of the children found difficult to deal with at first.

“Our local children’s charities including Spread a Smile and Rays of Sunshine were amazing and provided us with lots of single-use activities and games, so the patients didn’t miss out on having toys and games to play with.

“To try and explain what was happening to the children, and to reassure them, my colleague Mikki and I wrote a book and made a video called ‘The Day the Toys Went Away’ which went viral on social media and was featured on BBC Radio London. It helped to explain why the children couldn’t use the playroom during the pandemic and gave them ideas for using their imagination to have fun instead.

“We didn’t want our patients, especially those who had to remain in hospital long-term, to miss out of the therapeutic benefits of play. We work on a general paediatric ward, so patients are experiencing a range of issues from accidents and neglect to mental ill health.

“We were concerned that wearing PPE and setting up cubicles to keep them isolated might be a scary experience. Some of our activities were conducted over Zoom which was sometimes the only contact we could have with patients. Our work in keeping them occupied and entertained was also a lifeline for their parents who enjoyed seeing their children having fun and forgetting about the reasons why they were in hospital.”

Jamie-Lee and her colleagues were also incredibly busy helping to support adult wards by making up packs to keep patients busy and working to attract donations of iPads to enable those in hospital to keep in touch with their families who were unable to visit.

Starting her career at Forest Way School in Leicester on a student placement, Jamie-Lee, from Ashby-de-la-Zouch, had always wanted to work in childcare. After gaining her Level 3 qualification, Jamie-Lee moved abroad at the age of 21 to take up an opportunity with VIP Ski, offering private nanny services in Alpine resorts.

During her four years working abroad Jamie-Lee covered both winter and summer seasons and was rarely able to return to the UK. She was eventually promoted to manage the childcare programme at a new hotel in Austria.

Returning to the UK, Jamie-Lee’s next role saw her work as a private nanny to twins in a family based in Surrey. When this role came to an end, Jamie-Lee decided to refocus on her studies and applied to start her foundation degree at NWSLC.

Jamie-Lee added, “I think the fact that I had so much experience of working in a range of childcare settings really helped to give me a solid foundation for my studies. As a result of all the experiences I have had, I can draw on a wide range of skills in different scenarios and I am emotionally mature enough to deal with the challenging aspects of working with children who are sometimes very unwell.”

Impressed with the support of her college tutors, and valuing the NWSLC teaching and learning experience, Jamie-Lee has returned to the college to top up her qualification to a BA Hons in Integrated Services for Children and Young People, commuting to evening classes at the college’s Nuneaton Campus every week again while she continues to work full time in the NHS.

Jamie-Lee said, “I could have topped up my degree in London and it would have been more practically convenient than commuting but I really valued the help, support and knowledge of my NWSLC tutors, so I made the decision to return.”

Jamie-Lee has recently been appointed to a Band 6 management role at Queen’s Medical Centre in Nottingham.

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