The whole family

Our Family Practitioners are an essential point of contact for our families. What they do is often behind closed doors. Let Penny and Kerry tell you what they do.

Working with families who are willing to open up and share their lives with you is a real privilege.

As Family Practitioners our role is to look at the family as a whole and see how we can support them together and as individuals.

We do this by meeting the family when they are first referred to Acorns. We will talk through what they find difficult, where they lack support, and what is important to them.

For some families, they may be struggling with understanding the medical jargon the doctors use. Some would like to take their child out for the day but can’t find anywhere accessible. Others may just want a night of undisturbed sleep.

Often, they just want someone to talk to who understands what they are going through.

We find the families really value that opportunity to speak not just about the child, but about the whole family network. Their feelings, the siblings, the grandparents, everyone in that family. It gives them a voice.

Once we paint that picture of how the family functions, we can begin to look at the social and practical ways we can offer help, and the services Acorns can provide.

We may attend hospital appointments to help them understand the doctors. We will introduce them to the hospice where they can access short breaks and the facilities such as the hydrotherapy pools.

And we are always there to listen.

Our families often tell us that having someone who is always available to talk to and share those ups and downs with is one of the most cherished things about Acorns.

No family is the same. Everyone is unique. That’s why we love working at Acorns. We get to find out what they need and have the ability to support them based on who they are as a whole family.

More stories inside this issue…