It's not just patients that benefit from our care - North Devon Hospice

North Devon Hospice Staff Nurse Abi explains why receiving positive feedback from patients and families about the life-changing care you help to provide is such a special feeling…

At North Devon Hospice, providing outstanding patient care is at the heart of everything we do and something that bonds us all together in our work as a charity. That’s why this week, I couldn’t stop smiling when I heard the news that we’ve been awarded the Certificate of Excellence from I Want Great Care in recognition of the life-changing care you help us provide.

For those of you who don’t know, I Want Great Care is an independent platform where patients and families can leave anonymous feedback about our services and the care they’ve received from the hospice. With that in mind, it’s wonderful to know that the people we support have taken the time to give such positive feedback, even in the most difficult circumstances.

As a Staff Nurse, I am privileged to help deliver the care you make possible every single day to people across our community facing a life-limiting illness. Going into patients’ homes and ensuring they are comfortable and free from pain is an incredibly humbling feeling, one that makes my job so very special. But it’s not just patients that benefit from our care but their family members too.

Just recently, I had an urgent referral from a local District Nurse regarding a lovely lady who had been discharged from hospital and wanted to spend her last days in the comfort of home with her family. But when I arrived at her home later that evening, she was clearly agitated and in a great deal of pain. Her son, who was also present, was very distressed at seeing his beloved mum this way and not knowing how to help.

Thanks to you, I was able to make this patient comfortable by taking away her pain and making her feel safe and secure despite the incredibly difficult reality she faced. I sat and held her hand, listened to her worries, and reassured her that no matter what, she could rely on us to give her the dignified death that she wanted, surrounded by loved ones in the place she loved the most.

I was able to give her son the emotional support he needed and prepare him for the coming events in a calm and sensitive way. When other family members arrived, I was the friendly face that brought stability and relief, knowing that they didn’t need to struggle through this experience alone or in fear.

Following that evening, I had some lovely feedback from the family that mirrored much of that shared on I Want Great Care. They said they’d felt reassured and safe knowing I was there with them at one of the most challenging times in their lives, to bring comfort and relief to them all.

As the saying goes: “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but they will never forget how you made them feel.”

Our care is so full of feeling and it’s heart-warming to hear just how much of an impact it makes to those who need it most.