'We really do mean it when we say we’re here for all the family' - North Devon Hospice

For Hospice to Home Team member Kirsty, supporting family members as well as patients and helping their memories to live on is a real privilege.

At North Devon Hospice, we really do mean it when we say we’re here for all the family. Working in the Hospice to Home Team, I have the privilege of not only caring for patients journeying through their toughest times but also, for the family members sharing this journey with them.

At surface level, my role involves going into people’s homes to provide physical support. This is through things like personal care and complementary therapies and working alongside other healthcare professionals to ensure our patients are getting the very best care possible.

For family members, I’m not only there to help with their loved one’s care but to give comfort, reassurance, and stability at what is always an extremely difficult time. This means that to lots of families, I become more than just their hospice nurse. I am a confidant, a friend, a person to give shelter in the eye of the storm.

One moment that sums up the impact of the relationships we form with families is when I met a family at the hospice after their loved one passed away at home. Over the previous weeks, my colleagues and I had cared for this patient in their home, making sure they were comfortable and able to spend their last moments free from pain in the place they loved the most.

During this time, we also provided support to the family and got to know them well despite only visiting for a couple of weeks.

It was a big thing for them to come to the hospice – understandably so after such a recent loss. But upon seeing us again, their initial anxieties seemed to melt away and were replaced with smiles and hugs.

As we sat down together with hot cuppas in hand, the family said how incredibly grateful they were for the care, support, and guidance they had all received at such a difficult time. We talked more about their loved one and heard stories of their life – it was wonderful to know we’d helped make that last chapter as meaningful as possible.

There was laughter, tears, and everything in between during what turned out to be a very memorable afternoon. Because it was then that I truly realised that when a person passes away, it’s the people around them that keep their memory alive by talking about the cherished moments they shared together.

To play even a small part in helping to preserve someone’s memory is so humbling and makes me proud to be part of such a wonderful team at North Devon Hospice every single day.