Growing Hospice at Home service is improving choice in end-of-life care in Gloucestershire

Categories: Care.
The Hospice at Home team

Sue Ryder Leckhampton Court Hospice in Gloucestershire has increased the hours of care it’s providing to terminally ill people at home from 804 a month to 1,218 a month on average since January.

The increase in care, which has been made possible thanks to a grant from The Summerfield Charitable Trust, has seen the hospice grow its Hospice at Home service, employing 12 new members of staff to launch a second Hospice at Home team.

With a third Hospice at Home team launching later this summer, the charity plans to offer more at-home palliative care to more people over the coming year working in close partnership with NHS healthcare partners in the county.

Director of the Sue Ryder Leckhampton Court Hospice, Elise Hoadley, said:

“Expanding our Hospice at Home offering means we’ve been able to significantly increase the amount of care we provide, giving people at the end of their lives more choice about where they want to be.”

“More and more people tell us they wish to remain at home. We only get one chance to get this right, and as a charity we’re doing all we can to meet this need working closely with the NHS Gloucestershire Clinical Commissioning Group to ensure our developments continue to meet the ongoing plans of End of Life provision across the county.”

Fiona Hudman’s husband Steve was cared for by the Sue Ryder Hospice at Home team when it first launched back in 2010, and is pleased to hear more people will have the opportunity to receive the care her family did. Fiona said:

“It’s something I find hard to talk about, but I am passionate that we share our stories to make people aware of the care and support available to them. After Steve was diagnosed with terminal Pancreatic Cancer we talked about what we both wanted and Steve said he wanted to die at home surrounded by familiar things. It meant a lot being in our own home together in the short time we had.”

“I remember meeting the Hospice at Home nurse for the first time and feeling apprehensive, but the team came in and made such a difference. They gave me strength and support so Steve could stay at home.”

“When I heard that the team was expanding I felt this was such a big step forward, as there will be more people like Steve and I who can receive this incredible standard of care and fulfil their final wishes.”

For more information visit Sue Ryder Leckhampton Court Hospice

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