Lydia Ward

Lydia is a Senior Occupational Therapist with the Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust. She works part time in the acute hospital in Exeter, working across the Emergency Department, Acute Medical Unit, and the Acute Care of the Elderly Unit; supporting those for whom a lengthy hospital stay would be detrimental, to return home as quickly as possible. Lydia also works in a rehabilitation and teaching capacity, within the ME/CFS and Long COVID service based at Whipton Hospital.

Both roles, but particularly her work in the acute trust, show the critical need for consistent, high quality community support, such as those services provided by Age UK Exeter. Lydia's particular passions are in patient advocacy, supporting older people to live well and independently at home, and striving to improve quality of life for all her patients.

Lydia retrained as an Occupational Therapist undertaking her master's degree at Plymouth University, after working in marketing and communication roles. Her experience within healthcare and the private sector, have seen her take an active role in service development within the hospital, such as the creation of the Acute Care of the Elderly Unit, and the implementation of the trust’s new electronic patient record system.