Franky Henley, one of our Inpatient Unit Healthcare Assistants, explains how your donation could make a real difference:

 

“I have been working in end of life care for nearly 13 years. I am passionate about my work. There is no typical day at the Hospice and no hour is the same. We work 12½ hour shifts and we dedicate our care to a small group of patients. The beauty of this is it gives us a lot of time to be with a person to see them through their day and gives continuity to both patients and their family. It allows us the time to have heartfelt conversations and it helps build trust. We are there for their every need - whether helping with a patient’s pain relief or other troubling symptoms, running a relaxing bath or simply holding their hand and listening.

We help people to see that their life – however long or short - is worth living.

We help them to have some real quality time, even though they may be feeling desperate. Some people will come to the hospice for help with pain and symptom control and will then return home with care provided through our Clinical Nurse Specialists. Some will come to the Hospice for end of life care. It can be stressful and emotional for patients and their families and at times can feel overwhelming. We not only provide skilled care, but we also support patients to make plans for the time remaining and help them to feel more positive about the journey that lies ahead. At the end of a patient’s life, we ensure that they are as comfortable as possible and treated with dignity and respect, offering sensitive support to the family.

Please give what you can to enable me, the rest of our team, and our wonderful volunteers to continue doing the work we love – which we know makes such a difference to people in our community.”