Carers at Shropshire's Severn Hospice gearing up for festive workload

It has a dedicated 80-strong community nursing team who support patients and their families who are being cared for at home rather than on its wards.

Four out of five hospice patients are now cared for at home, and the nurses providing that care will be driving hundreds of miles to care for patients all over Shropshire and Mid Wales throughout the day and overnight.

Becky Richardson, deputy director of care and matron for community services at Severn Hospice said: “Terminal illnesses don’t worry that it’s Christmas, which is why our care will never stop as long as there are people out there who need our help.

“Our care is everywhere and our specialist teams are there for those facing difficult times not just at Christmas but 365 days of the year, irrespective of where they live or their diagnosis.

“In recent years we have seen the number of patients choosing to be cared for at home rise and we now care for more people at home than we do on any of our three wards.

“Our Hospice at Home team is part of our wider community service that provides expert nursing care and emotional support for patients who wish to be cared for at home. Quite often they are the difference between patients fulfilling their wish to stay at home and having to be admitted to hospital.

“Caring for someone at home can be immensely stressful and difficult for families. With our support families can be families again. Sadly for some this will be their last Christmas and spending precious time together as a family without having to worry about when the next lot of medication is due is a very special gift we can give.

“Many people that come into our care don’t realise that it is free of charge. Of course there are costs associated with providing that care and we have to raise more than £7 million every single year to keep our services going. But thanks to the generosity of the people of Shropshire and Mid Wales who support us in so many ways we are able to be there for the next family that needs our help now and in the future.”

Anne Billington, Hospice at Home healthcare assistant, said: “For us working on Christmas Day is like working on any other day, our priority will always be to provide the best care we can for our patients and their families. It can be difficult going into a patient’s home.” as you never know what you will be walking into, our patients can be very poorly and things can change so quickly, but we just do what we can to help them and their families at such a difficult time.”

Ally Scott, Hospice at Home nursing assistant, said: “I am so proud to be part of the team at Severn Hospice. It’s so nice to think that we are making a difference when we go to see patients, they are our priority and if we can help, even just a little bit, that is all that matters.”

Dawn Evans, Hospice at Home Sister, said: “On Christmas Day we will be providing hands-on care as well as a telephone advice service providing support to families, GPs and District Nurses. We always try to work with families to find out what they need and how we can help them. These families will always need our help and we will always try to do what we can for them at such a difficult time.”