As part of marking the 10th anniversary of our Hospice at Home service two families have kindly shared their experiences with us.

Alastair shares the story of his wife Leigh who died in the care of Hospice at Home in 2022, aged 49 years old. Anne’s step daughter Natalie (20) died in the care of Hospice at Home in 2015.

 

Our Hospice at Home service has supported 3,439 local people at end of life over the last ten years.

 

Anne and Natalie 

 

“Natalie was diagnosed with a brain tumour which couldn’t be managed with radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Her wish was to stay at home with her family beside her.

 

We were so fearful that we would hurt her when washing or turning her over in the bed, it was amazing to have Strathcarron Hospice at Home teams supporting us to do these practical things. They were just amazing.

 

When I tried to wash Natalie’s hair, I made a right mess of it. We would both end up laughing, but she was desperate to have clean hair. The Hospice at Home team made a great job of washing her hair, she felt great afterwards.

 

Natalie was cared for at home for 4 weeks. It’s just all the wee things that the Strathcarron Hospice at Home do that made all the difference."

 

Natalie

Alastair and Leigh 

“Leigh was diagnosed with cancer; a tumour in her left kidney. It then spread to her liver and lungs. She underwent chemotherapy which she said, “nearly killed her” and was in bed for 6 weeks.

She wanted to go into Strathcarron for palliative care and I stayed with her there for the full three and a half weeks she was in the ward.

Leigh wanted to be at home in her final days, so Strathcarron organised this for her, so she could have her wish to be surrounded by her own home comforts. Strathcarron’s Hospice at Home team were nothing short of amazing.

I’m forever grateful for the Hospice at Home teams for the time they gave me with Leigh at home. The care was just outstanding."

Alastair and Leigh

Thank you Alastair and Anne for sharing your stories with us.

Hospice at Home provides specialist palliative and end of life care in the community, which is free of charge to the people of Forth Valley and North Lanarkshire. Strathcarron’s Hospice at Home service has been awarded the highest rating of ‘Grade 6’ and ‘Excellent’ across all evaluation parameters inspected by the Care Inspectorate for the last 5 inspections (2016-2023).

The specialist service was initially launched in 2014 with support from The Big Lottery Fund for five years. The grant ended on 31st July 2019. As there has never been a funding commitment for Hospice at Home from the NHS, this service, that supports over 400 local people and their families each year, is mostly funded by the generosity of the local community who bake, run, jump, as well as donate and buy in Hospice charity shops to keep this vital Hospice service running.

 Click here for information about Hospice at Home