Sue

Sue has recently turned 60 and has lived on Portland for about 20 years, having moved to the island with family to run post offices. Both her parents have now sadly passed away. She has a grown-up son and daughter, both of whom were diagnosed with autism, amongst other conditions. Since she’s lived on Portland, Sue has had mixed experiences, losing her job, suffering from depression, battling cancer and finding a vocation that has turned her life around.

A typical day for Sue involves getting up about 8am, having breakfast and then going to the nearby Islanders Youth and Community Centre, where she is the volunteer manager. Most of her day is involved with running the club. She then goes home to relax.

The role she does for the Islanders Club is voluntary, and Sue relies on benefits as her main source of income. The last winter was particularly difficult for her due to the increase in living costs, particularly heating. She only could afford to put her heating on for an hour twice a day in the lounge to take the edge off the cold, relying on extra clothing and blankets to keep her warm the rest of the time.

While she ran her post office, Sue became one of the people affected by the faulty accounting software, which culminated in her losing her role and her home. From this she developed depression, became socially isolated and ended up putting on a large amount of weight. She also developed tonsil cancer.

During the treatment of her cancer, she needed radiotherapy and chemotherapy. There was a six-week period where she needed radiotherapy every working day at Poole Hospital, and was taken to there on the patient transport bus. Without this she would not have been able to get treatment. She regularly travelled with four other people from Portland and struck up friendships with them.

Some days she would be the only person getting the transport to hospital. When she asked her friends why they weren’t on the bus, they would say they were having treatment, but their appointment times were different, so they had a separate patient transport bus. Sue wasn’t sure if the cancer treatment centre were coordinating the treatment with the patient transport service, and if not, could this be done to make efficiencies? Sue was never offered support from a Macmillan nurse, and understands there isn’t one in the Portland area, but feels this service may have benefitted her.

Sue’s experiences of her GP practice and local health services have been positive. She was supported by her practice around her diagnosis of depression and was quickly referred for diagnosis and treatment of her cancer. She is pleased that services like mammograms are available on the island. Sue has also recently been referred by her practice for a lump on her arm and was impressed with how quickly an appointment was made for her.

Sue’s experience of the Steps to Wellbeing is mixed. The first time she used the service she was seen by a younger person and felt uncomfortable answering questions. She felt the process didn’t help. When she used the service a second time, she was seen by an older person and felt the whole process was much better. She would recommend they match people to someone more relatable to get a better outcome.

During one of her diabetes check-ups, the nurse suggested Sue may be eligible to have a gastric band fitted. She enquired into the possibility and was really pleased to be offered the procedure. Following the fitting of the band she has continued to lose weight, which has really helped with her self-esteem, and now feels confident enough to spend more time out of the house. It was due to a growth in confidence that she replied to a Facebook post asking for support at the Islanders Club, ending a short while later in her running the centre.

Being involved with the club has given Sue a new sense of purpose. She really enjoys helping to develop the club to benefit local children. Sue has heard that she will receive compensation from the Post Office for the errors in their accounting software, which will be enough to make her comfortable until her retirement, but she will not consider giving up her role at the Islanders Club.

Key takeaway:

Support and praise for GP practice in challenging times. Sue would like there to be more GPs based on the island but understands this is a national issue.

Sue raised a question whether the NHS patient transport service was linked/coordinated with hospital departments providing the treatment she used the service while having cancer treatment and from her experience she wasn’t convinced both services were joined up.