Julie Molyneux – Patient Relative

“From the moment mum was admitted to Hospice, the care, compassion and devotion shown to her and my family was beyond anything I'd ever experienced in a medical setting.”

“My 93 year old mum, who was still living at home with my dad, was diagnosed with cervical cancer in July 2022 but was failing quickly. She also had the start of dementia. She was admitted to Hospice on the 10th November after a spell in hospital for another condition.

From the moment mum was admitted to Hospice, the care, compassion and devotion shown to her and my family was beyond anything I'd ever experienced in a medical setting.

We were encouraged to bring personal items in such as photos etc so that mum's room was made to feel like being at home. The room looked out over the beautiful garden which was lovely for mum as she was an avid gardener up until around a year before. Mum was bed bound all the time she was in Hospice and the nurses were absolutely wonderful with her making sure she was always comfortable and turning her regularly.

My dad and sister visited every afternoon and my brother and myself visited every evening. Another wonderful thing about Hospice is that there are no strict times for visiting. You can turn up whenever you like. The nurses would also come and sit and talk to mum if she was on her own.

There was a good choice of food available and if mum just fancied something in particular, this was no trouble. Towards the end, she was unable to feed herself and the nurses were so patient when feeding her. You are also able to bring food in for the patients which you can feed to them yourself if you wish.

My mum loved dogs and had them all her life and they arranged for a lovely dog to be brought in to see her. When it came in and jumped on her bed which was the whole idea, the smile on her face was so big it was wonderful to see! She was overjoyed and so happy as she could stroke it.

In mum's final few days, the family were present all the time and Hospice made sure we were fed and watered and had everything we needed to make a very upsetting time as easy as possible. The nurses were always on hand to give you a hug if needed (and this was needed on a regular basis) and they were always there to offer support.

The support continues after the patient has passed with counselling if required. On behalf of my mum and my family, I would like to thank all the Hospice team for what they do and continue to do as they are the most wonderful and caring people I have ever met. I am so grateful that in her final few weeks, my mum had the best care she could ever have had from such fantastic nurses. God bless you all.”