Hospice at Home heroes who make Christmas possible for south Warwickshire families
WHILE most of us relax and enjoy the festivities, the Shakespeare Hospice at Home team will be working around the clock.
The dedicated team will be caring for terminally ill patients who want to be at home for their final Christmas.
Hospice at Home team manager Sarah Duncan said “Many people don’t want to die on a hospital ward, or behind a curtain listening to somebody in the next bed – they want to be at home, surrounded by their family. And that’s why it’s so important that we provide that service every day of the year.
She added: “It’s a great privilege to be able to go into someone’s home and look after them at the very end of their life – particularly when they know it’s their last Christmas.”
As patients aren’t always awake enough to engage with the nurses, they are led by the families and how they want the visit to be managed.
“Some want it to be a merry atmosphere and make it a bit of a celebration, whereas if the circumstances are more complex and it’s not suitable, you need to be slightly more reverent and calmer,” she explained.
“We’ll blend in with whatever the family and patients want.”
On Christmas Day, two nurses on each shift cover the whole of south Warwickshire. The nine registered nurses and five healthcare assistants who make up the Hospice at Home team also work in the day hospice.
Sarah, who’s been at the Shakespeare Hospice for nine years, pointed out: “Patients who come into the day hospice are generally more stable and still able to get out and about, so all our staff get to meet them.
“As their condition deteriorates, it’s the same staff who go to their home and look after them.
She added: “We go in and care for the patients, but we might sit for half an hour having a chat with their relatives – checking in with them and giving them some support.”
This is even more important over Christmas and not everyone has a big family that can help.
“When you’re caring for somebody at home on your own, it’s very isolating,” Sarah said. “It’s reassuring for the family or carer to know we’ll be knocking on their door and will stay for however long they need us. We’re a small team, so when we’re going into someone’s home for weeks and weeks, we form a relationship with a family and they come to depend on us.”
Dealing with death on a daily basis can take its toll on nurses and healthcare assistants.
“There are times when it’s incredibly moving or upsetting, and you feel tears brewing, but you have to maintain that professionalism and try and swallow it down,” Sarah said. “Sometimes we do have a cry with somebody when their loved one’s died, because we feel that empathy.”
The team all look out for each other, and have access to professional counselling, reflection and support. A lot of them have been in their roles for a long time, which creates a supportive atmosphere.
“Palliative and end of life care is a very special career, and people tend to stick with it for a long time,” Sarah observed.
There will often be children in the homes the Hospice at Home team go into, so they work closely with Shakespeare Hospice’s children’s and bereavement services.
Sarah said: “We reassure our patients we’ll be there for their family in the future and that gives our patients a lot of reassurance.
“After a patient has died, we’ll visit the family if they need a visit and we write to them on the first anniversary of their loved one’s death, because that first anniversary is so hard – especially if it’s around Christmas time.
“It’s our way of reassuring them that help and care is available and they’re not on their own.”
A special time
GIVING patients and their families wraparound care and as much time as they need is paramount, healthcare assistant Mel Bartlett says.
Mel, who’s been part of the Shakespeare Hospice team for a decade, explained: “It's special for families to have somebody at home - it's a lovely thing to do for somebody.
She and her colleagues don’t just care for the person who is terminally ill, they also help the family understand what's going on and take time to listen.
“We have medication to help with anxiety and pain, to try to manage symptoms and make our patient as comfortable as they can be,” she explained.
“We gently dip in and out - the family are the ones there - we give wraparound care to help gently hold it all together.
“It's a special thing for us to be able to give our time at Christmas.”