The ARING TIMES C Issue: Autumn/Winter 2014 History in the making! UK’s first hospice in the hospital opens The Jules King legacy Teenage brothers raise more than £28,000 “Remarkable” hospice care How hospice care can rehabilitate Grantham Hospice in the Hospital Welcome The new six-bed inpatient unit will care for more than 160 people from across South to your West Lincolnshire each year – saving them Autumn/ and their friends and family a 60-mile round Winter journey to currently the county’s only inpatient unit at Nettleham Road, Lincoln. newsletter. The unit is at the forefront of latest thinking You may have and research which shows how the patient noticed that we’ve made some changes to experience can be transformed by the design the look and feel of your newsletter. The of the environment in which they are cared. name is now ‘The Caring Times’ which we Each room has its own en-suite facilities and feel better communicates the ethos of our french doors that lead them outside into the hospice and what you can hope to find in courtyard. these pages. We are all really proud of the new unit and This summer I was delighted to see history the opportunities it creates for us to further in the making when we opened the UK’s first improve palliative and end of life care for hospice in the hospital at Grantham. people in Grantham, Sleaford and the surrounding villages. We are always looking for opportunities to strengthen services so that people can I hope you enjoy reading your copy of access these close to where they live. It was ‘The Caring Times’. for this reason that we have worked with GPs, colleagues from Grantham Hospital and the Clinical Commissioning Group to open Sarah-Jane Mills this exciting new venture. Chief Executive The overall design of our newsletter has been slightly changed to ensure easy and enjoyable reading. You can let us know what you think of these changes at [email protected]. Your opinions are really important to us and may help to shape future issues. To update your contact details or mailing preferences, email [email protected] 2 Each room has en-suite The reception area showcases “wetroom style” facilities local artistic talent The purpose designed ‘HOSPICE IN THE HOSPITAL will care for MORE THAN 160 PEOPLE across South West Lincolnshire each year Seating areas are included and reinforces that this unit supports patients and their families Patio doors have the effect of bringing the outside in Colours of decorations and fabrics The theme of the new unit is trees - each have been chosen to create a bedroom is named after a tree homely environment www.stbarnabashospice.co.uk 3 Crucial care in the final hours Terry Wright, 68, and his wife Christine, 64, had been married for 46 years; they had two beautiful daughters and five grandchildren. In 2008 their lives would change forever. Terry said: “Christine confided However, by 2012 she in me that she had found became housebound and the What I like about a lump in her breast. Her cancer had broken through “St Barnabas is that Mother had died from breast her skin, leaving her with an the care is there cancer and this was the open wound. Realising that when you need it the catalyst for Christine refusing they could no longer cope “ to seek medical intervention, alone Terry called for our help. most and the people instead vowing to battle the are so genuine. Terry said: “Two nurses cancer herself.” arrived and immediately set Terry and the rest of the family about washing and changing rallied around her to support Christine and making her as her in any way they could. For comfortable as possible. I felt the first two years Christine like a weight had been lifted managed her symptoms well off my shoulders, just knowing and continued to live a good that somebody was there was quality of life. a huge relief. 4 “The nurses returned later that day to ensure Christine was still comfortable and to reassure me that they were at the end of a phone if I needed them. Christine was extremely poorly and I knew in my heart that we didn’t have long left together. “Later that evening I climbed into bed with Christine for what would be the final time. She passed away a few short hours later. “I know that Christine only received care from St Barnabas for one day but they really did make such a difference in her final hours, and two years on, they are still making a difference to Extending our care me.” Terry and his family are to the renal unit now active supporters and are heavily involved in our annual fundraisers. In a pioneering new project our volunteers are supporting patients in the renal unit within Lincoln Terry said: “The whole family has thrown themselves into County Hospital. fundraising for St Barnabas; The volunteers are on hand to offer patients dedicated support we just want to raise as through a host of skills, including; basic relaxation techniques much money as possible and and therapeutic hand massage. give something back to such a deserving organisation. Sam Lewis, Specialist Nurse Practitioner, said: “It’s the small things that make the biggest difference, It is often very difficult for patient’s under-going like they take the time to “regular dialysis treatment to be able to access remember your name; it’s some of the services we provide in Day Therapy that level of personal care that really matters. They due to their treatment commitments. have welcomed me with We are hoping that our volunteers may be able to open arms and you never bring a little bit of Day Therapy to those patients have to feel like you are and bridge the“ gap between acute and hospice alone; it’s just like being a part of one big family.” services. For a chat about volunteering on this project call us on 01522 518221 www.stbarnabashospice.co.uk 5 cathy Providing a lifeline of support Cathy Poulton, 73, has been the sole carer for her husband Ted, 78, for the past three and a half years. Ted is suffering with the early onset of dementia and the muscle wasting disease ataxia. Cathy herself has faced personal health Cathy explains that being a full-time carer struggles and underwent surgery in 2010 to can leave you feeling cut off from society but have a tumour removed from her pituitary accessing our Day Therapy support in October gland, at the base of her brain. Although the 2013 has proven to be a lifeline. tumour was successfully removed she suffered Cathy said: “I was immediately struck by a bleed which left her with tunnel vision in her how helpful and emphatic the staff there are. left eye. They have helped to put my mind at ease by Despite only having partial eyesight Cathy creating an emergency carer’s plan which cares for Ted alone. She does all the cooking, details how Ted would be cared for if I became cleaning and household chores. She is also unwell. Ted’s emotional support as he struggles to “It has also been wonderful to have the understand and accept his conditions. opportunity to talk openly and freely; I don’t Cathy said: “The tragic part about these two have to bottle everything up, and I know it conditions is that one progresses the other. sounds strange, but I could never speak to my They feed off one another and Ted has begun GP like that. to deteriorate. He can’t be left alone for long, “Being a full time carer can be stressful and which means I can’t go out and see friends as exhausting and I often find it difficult to relax. much as I’d like. Ultimately, he relies on me When I’m at home with Ted I’m always on entirely. Our whole lives are dictated by Ted’s edge, if he’s in another room I’m straining to illness. listen out, worried that he may have a fall or “Ted doesn’t realise how bad he actually is. need my help. He doesn’t recognise that his behaviour is out of the ordinary. It’s sad really. There are Day Therapy offers me a tranquil times when he just sits in his chair staring “environment and the chance to have endlessly out of the window for hours, his face time out from my everyday life. I am expressionless and his eyes vacant. so grateful to the outstanding staff“ and “His behaviour can be very erratic, one minute volunteers I have met. I’d be absolutely he is completely on the ball and then the next lost without St Barnabas now. he acts like a small child.” 6 How “remarkable” hospice care helped my husband return home In April 2014, Amanda Orr, 56, received the devastating news that her husband Mick, 65, had just a short time to live and as a result would be transferred to our hospice on Nettleham Road in Lincoln. Only eleven months earlier Mick had been and all you have to do is ask. It really is diagnosed with an aggressive and incurable home from home, as best as it can be, in this form of prostate cancer. He went on to suffer situation.” spinal cord compression as a result of the During his time at the hospice, Mick and secondary cancer in his bones and his health Amanda were also able to plan for Mick’s began to deteriorate.