This Hospice Care Week (October 10-14), an occupational therapist at Sue Ryder Leckhampton Court Hospice is highlighting the rewards of a career in palliative care.

Dean Powell said: "Being allowed into someone's house when their world has been turned upside down is a real privilege. People are allowing you into their home at a very difficult time. You get to hear their stories and their history, and you also get to see more about people's roles and how their diagnosis has impacted them.

"I love being able to work alongside our patients and their families to help them process things in different ways. The courage people show is incredible to see. It is a real honour and privilege.

"In our role, we get to really build a connection and a relationship with our patients and their families, which means we get to do some really meaningful work."

Dean, from Bishops Cleeve, joined the Cheltenham hospice earlier this year, in his first ever position in palliative care.

He said: "As an occupational therapist working in palliative care, we need to be in tune with very subtle changes in a person and what this might indicate. This is a whole new way of working and learning.

"It is almost like starting another career, as it is so specialist. But the team here at Sue Ryder are great at sharing their knowledge and supporting you.

"Speaking to the rest of the team, their knowledge of the human body and the complexities of different conditions and how this can impact a person and what we should look out for is truly impressive."

He said Sue Ryder puts patients at the heart of everything.

"We think about the person first and their world and then we think about our work and everything we can do as a service evolves from that.

"Luckily in this field we have the time to be able to do this. We can spend time to really understand the person we are supporting and their history, who they are and their roles and their routines."

Dean said that palliative care is a little known field of occupational therapy, and one he is passionate about raising awareness of among future occupational therapists and students.

He wants to show that palliative care is not just about death and dying, but about living as full a life as possible and optimising quality of life.

"Palliative care is very much focused on treating the whole person holistically, taking into account their personal wishes, strengths, history, personal circumstances and that of their loved ones.

"There are just so many ways a hospice can help people - whether as an outpatient, an inpatient or in someone's home. People should not be frightened of being referred to a hospice or to receive palliative care."

Sue Ryder is currently recruiting a number of roles in palliative care across its hospices and hubs.