Ange’s Story
Ange has been part of the clinical team at St Mary’s for over 27 years and at the heart of the Hospice at Home team since its launch. Ange absolutely loves her role, every day is her favourite!
Ange was inspired to join the hospice care by experiencing St Mary’s care with her family: “My dad was actually a patient in the hospice. And we were so overwhelmed by the care that he was given. They took everything that we were worried about away from us, and allowed us to be a family. The hospice is really close to mine and my family’s heart. It enabled me to be a daughter with him in his final days and I will never forget that.”
Ange previously worked on the In-Patient Unit but wanted to help bring care and choice to patients so wherever possible they can have comfort within the familiarity of their home with whoever is family to them: including their beloved pets.
“I go out into our community and look after patients at home. People get the choice of where they want to be. A lot of people choose to be in their own homes, with their own surroundings and family by their side.”
“You are so welcomed in to homes and we want patients and their loved ones to be as relaxed as possible, we are often greeted in pyjamas and love that people feel at ease with us. We always start by asking how we can help? We work with a wider team which includes district nurses and clinical nurse specialists, together with families we achieve hospice care at home.”
“It’s just so lovely, you get to know all about the families and immediately get a sense of who and what is important to them: dogs, cats, everything! Families are more relaxed at home, they can stay in their pyjamas, they get used to us and that’s exactly how we want it to be, as easy as possible.”
Ange highlights how important St Mary’s Night Sitting service is: “We have a Night Sitting Service which is so beneficial, the night staff can stay overnight and enable that family member to have a good night’s sleep. Then in the morning when we go they feel relieved to have had a good night’s sleep and hopefully feel they can cope a bit better, and it’s important they know they’re not on their own.”
The hospice only receives around a fifth of the funding it needs from Government, with the rest — £2.6m each year — being raised by donations from individuals and businesses in the local area.
But for patients and those important to them, thanks to our community’s support the Hospice ensures everything is free at the point of need, and that nothing is ever too much trouble.
“We’ve had wedding blessings, and once organised a wedding vow renewal at home, it was a beautiful and special day, full of happiness. It made such a difference to the whole family and things like that stay with you forever. It’s about understanding what is important to patients and wherever possible we try and achieve what the families need.”
“Sometimes it’s not always achievable for a patient to die at home, but there is nothing wrong with that. People mustn’t ever think that they have failed their loved one, because they will have excellent care wherever they are. It’s just what’s best at that time. You have to think of what you did do, rather than what you didn’t. Birth and death you have to get it right.”
“We get overwhelmed at how people pull together across our community to support their loved ones. No matter where they are, you don’t need a big house, or everything to look after your loved one, you just need a bit of help and support from the services. It’s how they care for their loved one, they all manage to achieve it and it makes us feel really humble. Some people ask how can you do this job? It’s the best job, we are so happy every day. It’s the people that we meet that make it and make such a difference.”
Ange adds: “Thank you to everyone that supports us, you are all amazing and without you fundraising we wouldn’t be able to provide this service.”