A night on the Bedded Unit at North Devon Hospice

Health Care Assistant Catrin explains how your support means care is available on the North Devon Hospice Bedded Unit day and night for patients and their loved ones.

At your local hospice, the care you help us provide to patients and families on our Bedded Unit never stops.

Thanks to the generosity of our amazing North Devon community, we can be here day and night to ensure people facing a life-limiting illness are as comfortable as possible and know that however they’re feeling, we’ll be here to scoop them up and hold them through their darkest times.

If you haven’t experienced the warm embrace of hospice care before, it can be hard to imagine exactly what having access to this round-the-clock care means to the people we support.

So today, I wanted to share a few moments from a recent night shift I did at the hospice to show you just how much of a difference it makes.

It’s Saturday night and as I arrive for my first night shift of the weekend, I’m welcomed by a beautiful autumnal sky of swirling pinks and blues. As the sun sets on another day, I walk through the doors of our beautiful Bedded Unit at 7.40pm.

As I enter, some of my colleagues who have been caring for patients throughout the day are getting ready to go home for some well-earned rest but still have smiles on their faces. It is always nice to see them, even just for a moment or two.

At 10pm, a colleague and I go round to check that all our patients are settled and snuggled up nicely in bed. Some are still awake watching TV with a hot cup of Horlicks while others have already drifted off, which is lovely to see.

Once everyone has properly bedded down for the night, I’ll be getting on with some other important jobs such as making sure there’s plenty of cake in the kitchen for loved ones to enjoy on their visits tomorrow!

At 11.20pm, there’s a little flurry of activity. A couple of patients needed to go to the toilet, some required pain relief and others needed repositioning.

Of course, we were there to help with all these requests and quickly ensured everyone got what they needed to remain comfortable and have a restful night.

Just after 2.20am, I spend some time with a patient who wasn’t in any physical pain, but was feeling very anxious and worried about a lot of things. I sit by their bedside, hold their hand, and listen, soothing them in any way I can.

We often find that patients can feel more frightened during the night, which is why it’s so important that we’re here to provide a listening ear and comfort at any time.

As 5am approaches, we’re coming to the end of what turned out to be quite a busy night! As the sky begins to lighten, I enjoy a nice warm cup of tea and make some notes for my colleagues who will be caring for our patients that day to ensure they can continue to fulfil their needs.

At 6.45am, I look out of our Family Lounge window to see the moon still glistening in the morning sky. The hospice gardens look so peaceful at this time, making for an even more beautiful view for our patients.

The day staff will be arriving soon but as always after a night shift, I start the day feeling humbled knowing I have helped to bring care, comfort, and calmness to people on the unit throughout the night.

Thank you for making this possible.