why did I start the confident patient project? for families just like you!
Hi there 👋, I'm Catherine and I'm the founder of The Confident Patient Project.
About me
As a registered health play specialist based in London, I've supported children and young people with healthcare procedures since 2008.
​
I'm passionate about empowering children and young people and their families when visiting healthcare settings so that they can walk in feeling in control and confident.
Health play specialists work around the country in hospitals, hospices and community settings to improve children and young people's healthcare experience. But many families I've worked with wanted support before they arrived at the hospital, and many felt they needed additional support after they had gone home. And that's why I started The Confident Patient Project.
​
I am passionate about the profession and have been a trustee for the Society of Health Play Specialists (SoHPS) since 2016, where I regularly attend meetings to review and improve our profession. Every year I help to assess the re-registration portfolios of our registered health play specialists. I feel very privileged to read all about the amazing things our registrants do in hospitals, hospices and communities around the country.
​
I love learning, and I’ve found that knowledge not only empowers me but also strengthens the trust and understanding I build with the families I work with. Every role I’ve had has contributed to the work I do now with The Confident Patient Project.
​
I’ve studied at undergraduate and postgraduate levels; gaining a degree in Childhood and Youth Studies, my professional qualification in Specialised Play for Sick Children and Young people as well as a postgraduate certificate in Therapeutic Communication with Children and Young People and finally, my masters in Infant Mental Health. All of these qualifications influenced and improved my practice and then life happened and my work changed forever…
Read on to find out why.
​
the backstory...
After 10 years working in the NHS, I had my first taster of life on the other side of the hospital bed. At the ripe old age of 30 something, I became a patient for the first time.
​
I felt an almost instant shift in my understanding and empathy for the families I was supporting. I experienced the awful limbo period waiting for test results, having questions but not knowing who or when to ask and critically, not knowing what to expect from different appointments and procedures.
​
It made me feel isolated, anxious and lost. I now had a much closer understanding of the experience of my patients and their families, not just their lived experience in the hospital, but also the mental load, the time management, the logistics and the general overwhelm.
​
Fast forward another year or two and my world shifted again, with the birth of my son. He was born with medical needs which meant the first year of his life was filled with multiple appointments, over two different hospitals, surgery and inpatient stays.
​
I have supported thousands of families with a variety of procedures and investigations, but there’s nothing like watching it happen to your own child. And that’s how the idea for The Confident Patient Project was born.
​
I now knew, not only what it was like to be a patient, but also the helplessness of trying to find my voice as a parent in, what can be, a really scary environment.
​
I felt such a connection with previous families that I had supported and knew that I could support future families in similar situations and help them walk into these medical settings feeling knowledgeable, confident and empowered.
And there’s nothing I love more.
sign up to our newsletter
You can unsubscribe at any time
