Looking back at Hospice Care Week: Claire and Linda’s story - Why hospice care is more than you think
Claire is a healthcare assistant at Isabel Hospice in Hertfordshire. She’s part of a team that looks after Isabel’s community, delivering vital palliative and end of life care in people’s own homes.
Every year in the UK, hospices make 1.4 million visits to people in the community. People just like Linda, who was recently diagnosed with cancer. She wants to remain in her own home during her illness, to be in the place she loves, with the people who are most dear to her.
And it's hospice staff like Claire who make this happen. Along with colleagues from Isabel Hospice, she visits Linda most days, to make sure she is comfortable and has everything she needs to keep living well until the end.
Whilst the clinically trained staff can help with specialist medical care such as symptom management and pain relief, Claire can help with turning down beds, getting dressed, taking a bath – and all the day-to-day care that someone with a life-limiting or terminal illness might need.
And the holistic care that hospices offer extends to what Claire does: listening, chatting, and revisiting happy memories. It might be having a sing song to someone’s wedding song, or belting out some karaoke to their favourite songs; playing cards, taking a patient out for a walk, or spending time in their garden.
Thank you to players of People’s Postcode Lottery, who have raised £1 million for Hospice UK, for their incredible support.
Our sincere gratitude also to the team at Isabel Hospice, Claire Harding-Edwards, Rosalinda Finn and her husband John.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuZVMMCg-Ik