hospice respite break

I used to work for the hospice in my city. I used to sit with people who were at the end of life - those who had been given only weeks to live - as well as tend to their personal care (bathing, dressing, etc). It was a privilege to help them.

Boodymum67 I just want to second everything that you say! I volunteer every week in a hospice. The principles behind hospice care is that everyone matters and that they matter until their very last breath. With that in mind, they create warm and welcoming places for all their patients and their families, and make so much possible for people. Day care, in patient unit, community based care - it is all there

Luckygirl I am glad your experience was generally positive but very shocked by the confidentiality breach

Annodomini I agree with you. I do know that during lockdown our local hospice benefited from the Voluntary sewing scrubs for the NHS initiative and lots of support from local businesses etc. I also think that hospices should be better funded centrally.

Auntiflo I have seen so many patients arrive so ill, and return home again when that just didn't seem possible.

How lovely of you to post a positive report.
I have no knowledge of a Hospice, other than that the sister of a friend was admitted to one a couple of weeks ago, and my friend thought that she would never come home.
But, she was looked after so well and managed to be able to come home after having her meds and food sorted.

I used to work bank shifts at my local hospice. It's only a small establishment but it truly is an amazing place. They operate a Day Care service too for people not only with cancer but also MS, Parkinson's, MND and Heart Failure and offer night sitting services for clients at home to give family a break. I felt humbled and privileged to be part of the whole service.

It is a great shame that hospices are not NHS funded. But ours has huge local support; and I make a regular contribution.

It also has the unfortunate effect of stopping NHS hospitals from accumulating expertise in terminal care. The feeling is that if someone is reaching the end of their life they need to be in the hospice where the skills lie; but many many people finish up dying in hospital, and every nurse or doctor needs those skills.

The problem of course is that NHS hospitals also do not have the right accommodation, whereas hospices have single rooms where someone can die in peace with privacy for them and their family.

Our local hospice has small "pods" with 4 rooms off and a shared area in the middle where patients can meet together and relatives can make a cup of tea etc. And also - which impressed me greatly - they have lots of toys and games in the shared area, and there is a playroom (both indoors and out) so that young children can come along and feel welcomed rather than hushed and shushed.

It disturbed me that, during the lock-down, there was quite a lot of fund-raising for NHS causes, but that none of the money raised trickled down to hospices. I know that many people think that hospices are part of the NHS but in England they receive just 34% of their annual budget from the Government and Children's hospices a mere 17%. The rest is raised by charitable giving, fund-raising efforts, legacies and charity shops.
I wish that when well-meaning individuals and groups decided to raise money for NHS causes, they had also given some thought to the needs of hospices.

It's lovely to hear you have had so much support, boodymum

DD2 and I stayed in our local hospice for two weeks with DD1 at the end of her life. They offered us a spacious flat with enough room for other family members to also stay over if they wanted to.

I can't praise their care highly enough. Not just for DD, who needed round the clock attention but also counselling for her two sons.

We took turns to be with her 24/7 and not a single night went by without a staff member popping in just after midnight with coffee and sandwiches.

It's a shame the Paris and London marathons were cancelled as DD2 and her cousin in France were going to run to raise funds. They've deferred their places to next year.

Fingers crossed!

I've never hears anyone give anything but glowing praise for the care received in hospice.

Very bad about that breach of confidentiality though luckygirl

Only one experience, when my dad was at the end of his life, but oh what a difference it made for all of us.

I am appalled Luckygirl, I do hope you reported the breach to the counsellor's supervisor, there would have been a very thorough investigation?

My OH spent a fortnight in our local hospice last year. The reason was to give me a break and for him to have some physio input - and a bath! They did look after him very well, but it was not a total respite for me as I went to see him every day - I simply could not have done otherwise.

Many of the patients were there for a pain relief review or respite for their carer. It is a revolving door for many and not a one-way trip.

They also had lots of out-patient things to be a part of, and my OH found their mindfulness classes helpful with his anxiety.

I was less than happy with their counselling service as one of the counsellors broke my confidence with a neighbour of mine! A very basic unprofessional error.

I volunteer five days a week with our local hospice, inputting clinical data so the staff are free to do other things. It is a hospice at home service, so our nurses visit patients in their homes, standard assistance and care and on call 24 hours a day, we are fairly unique in offering a night service. We have a day centre where counselling, massage, reiki, accupuncture and group therapy are offered to patients and their families, plus a day's respite care. We also have a specialist service for children with life limiting illnesses.

Please bear in mind hospices are now really struggling, all the mass fun runs that they used to rely on for money are banned, and they are trying to open shops with all the restrictions due to Covid, but it is not easy with no money coming in.

What a lovely post, thank you boodymum67

Thankyou xx

My Mother spent her last eleven days in our local hospice, the staff were angels on earth . Fabulous with Mum and so supportive to all our family. Her GGC visited daily and the staff were magnificent with them also, made what could have been a scary experience into a positive one.

Absolutely no experience but thank you for posting your positive message.

I hope you are well.