Connections Spring 2026 - Flipbook - Page 10
Peter’s Story
“Phyllis Tuckwell helped us so much through such an awful time,”
said Sarah, whose dad, Peter, was referred to us last summer.
Karen and Julia, two of our Clinical Nurse
Specialists (CNSs) visited Peter and his wife,
Lesley, to assess Peter’s symptoms and tell
them more about our services. “They wore
masks, aprons, gloves – full PPE – for each
visit, but Mum and Dad didn’t feel it made
any difference,” said Sarah. “They were
just grateful for the support.” As Peter
was experiencing nausea and pain, one of
our Consultants also visited him, and gave
him some new medication to try. “That was
definitely beneficial,” said Sarah. “He had
month or two of more stability after that.”
“Covid had changed things so much. Karen
and Julia explained that if Dad wanted to
spend his last days in the Hospice’s In-Patient
Unit, visiting would be restricted. They told
Mum and Dad about their Hospice Care at
Home service, and suggested that Dad might
find it easier to stay at home for his last days.
It would also be more comforting, because
we could all be with him as much as we
wanted. They explained all the options, very
sensitively, and then gave Mum and Dad
time to think things over and come to their
own decision. Dad had presumed he would
go to the Hospice, but after finding out about
the other options, he changed his mind. He
and Mum agreed they’d rather he stayed at
home, and it was definitely the best decision.”
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“Dad slowly started to become weaker and
more tired, and his appetite decreased.
The CNSs were brilliant. They would ring
once or twice a week, and we could ring
them if we needed to. With their advice, Dad
was able to increase his medication, which
helped a lot. They referred him to the Hospice
Care at Home team, who started visiting daily
to help him with washing, position changing
and nursing care. When he couldn’t take his
oral medication anymore, the District Nurses,
HCAH team and CNSs sorted out a syringe
driver for him to use. They also assessed
him for a hospital bed, and when it arrived
they helped him into it. The communication
between Phyllis Tuckwell, the District
Nurses and Dad’s GP was amazing. In
those last few weeks there were times when
Dad needed someone to come out to see
him, and we had to ring up to see if anyone
could come, and someone always did, even
in the middle of the night. The HCAH team
and District Nurses would arrange it between
themselves and just let us know who would be
coming. It was like they were one big team.”
“We were supported as a whole family.
They didn’t just look after Dad, they looked
after us all. Every time they rang, they would
ask about Dad and how he was doing, but
they would always ask how we were doing
too. It was very individualised care and it
was very much appreciated.”
“Dad died peacefully at home. Afterwards,
Phyllis Tuckwell offered us counselling and
bereavement support. We haven’t needed it
yet, but it’s nice to know it’s there if we do.”
“I feel humbled at how much effort they put
into helping us, especially at a time when
it was so difficult for them because of all
the PPE they had to wear, the logistics of
coming to visit Dad, their own staffing levels,
and the extra cost of the PPE. Covid made
everything so much harder, but they never
expressed any difficulty or reluctance, they
were so supportive, all the way through.”
