Category: Clinical Services

Vanessa Greveson has given an emotional account of how East Cheshire Hospice provided help when it was most needed.

Her talented musician husband Warren died of cancer in October 2019, spending his last three weeks as a Hospice inpatient. He was 63.

His health was declining when the couple moved to Macclesfield from Anglesey that summer.

Vanessa said: “He was pretty poorly by then. There comes a time in caring for someone when the drug regime needs frequent adjustment and you need instant advice from your medical team. However, you can’t always get hold of the right people just at the right moment.

“We came into the Hospice and that was brilliant. An enormous burden of responsibility had been lifted off my shoulders.

“I knew that someone else was going to know whether to up the syringe driver drugs, and manage any changes.

“I no longer had to relay anything to anyone. I could enjoy being with Warren, though sadly not for long enough.

“What neither of us had anticipated was the effect of the positive, supportive and very caring approach of everyone at the Hospice for us both. We were very happy in those last days together.”

Warren was a composer and producer, writing orchestral music electronically in his studio.

One of his most innovative works was a 2018 album inspired by the Voyager space missions. It was performed at festivals in Anglesey and Orlando. He died before his final work could be performed and released on CD.

Warren in his music studio.

Afternoon teas were delivered to homes as East Cheshire Hospice still made sure the festive season was celebrated in style.

The tasty treats were enjoyed by members of the Hospice’s friends and family support group at their virtual Christmas party.

Volunteer drivers took out the festive boxes prepared by the Hospice catering team in a doorstep delivery service which reflected the spirit of Christmas.

From left, staff nurse Joan Marie Williams, Denise Higginbotham from the catering team and volunteer drivers Peter Bedson and Richard Hayes.

The support group is for those looking after a family member or friend diagnosed with a life-limiting illness.

No link to the Hospice is required to be part of the group which meets on the first Tuesday of each month.

Sessions were at the Sunflower Centre until April and have been held via Zoom since the start of Covid-19.

Sunflower Centre Manager Helen Henshaw said: “For our December season  members would have been served a delicious Christmas lunch and enjoyed festive entertainment.

“So in keeping with our new technological skills we held a virtual Christmas lunchtime party which allowed everyone to enjoy the contents of the boxes and share amusing stories.

“This was a first for the Hospice and we were excited to be able to continue to offer this invaluable support.

“It also gave us the chance to wish goodbye to 2020 and pray for good health and better times in 2021.”

Anyone who provides care and support for an adult with a diagnosis of any life-limiting illness in Eastern Cheshire can access the self-referral friends and family service. For more information contact the unit on 01625 665685.

Helen said: “The group offer time to talk, share, relax and support others in a similar situation. It’s also worth stressing the group is also open to those who might not necessarily have a connection to the Hospice.

“Staff within the unit adapted quickly after Covid-19 and set themselves a challenge, initiating the use of Zoom to continue the monthly support sessions.

“These have continued during this unusual year and feedback from our service users has been extremely positive and a lifeline during lockdowns.

“We’d like to thank everyone who contributed towards making our virtual afternoon tea such a success, especially our volunteer drivers and our catering team.”

Staff nurse Joan Marie Williams and Carol Schofield from the Sunflower Centre.

East Cheshire Hospice is hoping to reopen its Sunflower Centre in September.

The day care unit – the hub for the Hospice’s outpatient services –  has been closed for three months.

Clinical Director Sandra Jones said: “We’re taking it a day at a time, but we’re planning to have small groups back towards the start of September.

“Obviously, we’ll be adhering to social distancing and keeping footfall as low as possible. We need to make sure it’s safe for everyone who comes into the unit.

“There are logistics involved and many patients rely on our volunteer drivers to collect them.  We need to get the volunteers back on board and make sure they feel happy to go and bring people in.

“We also have volunteers who serve food and refreshments. That all depends on who’s willing to come in.”

The Sunflower Centre, managed by Helen Henshaw, has continued some services, including counselling, via phone and video calls. An online afternoon tea is popular.

Sunflower Centre manager Helen Henshaw in the day care unit.

Staff were redeployed to help the IPU and Hospice @Home teams and other areas, including laundry and housekeeping.

Sandra said: “We’ve been supporting patients with weekly calls to see how they are and signposting them to GPs and district nurses if necessary. Most just need a welfare catch up and someone to talk to and run things by.”

“The team have been fantastic, moving round to fill gaps and changing rotas at the drop of a hat to make sure we still provide a service.”

The absence of families around the bedsides of dying patients has been one of the hardest parts of Covid-19 restrictions at East Cheshire Hospice.

Visitors have had to stay away from the inpatient unit for strict safety reasons unless a patient has been in the last days of life.

Then they have been allowed one visitor – two for a patient approaching the last few hours of life.

Clinical Director Sandra Jones said: “It’s been really difficult for staff not having relatives here because that’s not what we do.

“We care for the patient and the family holistically, working with families to prepare for the death of a loved one. Not being able to do that has been hard.

“We’ve used iPads and WhatsApp to allow patients to talk to relatives at home. We’ve encouraged them to send emails which we’ve printed off and read to patients and shown them pictures.

“It’s obviously not the same as seeing someone face-to-face but no patient has died alone. A member of staff has been with them if the family couldn’t be present for any reason.”

Confirmed Covid-19 cases among patients and staff have presented challenges for Hospice staff.

Sandra said: “We’ve had patients with unconfirmed and confirmed Covid and staff who’ve been unwell with the illness but we’ve just had to manage the best we can.

“A patient with Covid wouldn’t be treated differently to any other infectious patient. Obviously we have to ramp up the PPE but they’re still cared for exceptionally well to our usual high Hospice standards.

“Staff adhere to the strict infection control regime and use the required PPE. Our housekeeping team have ramped up their cleaning schedules to make sure there’s no spread of infection. We can’t eliminate it, but we’re risk-managing it.”

Thankfully, the inpatient ward, managed by Claire Barber, has had enough beds to cope.

Sandra added: “We’ve been within capacity and we know that from our area the wave hasn’t hit as hard as we were expecting because the NHS Trust hasn’t been at the capacity it thought it was going to be.

“Luckily, we’ve been well supported with PPE and had all the equipment we need. The amount of information and guidance we received on making sure our environment was safe was quite challenging.

“I’ve been a nurse for more than 40 years and have never come across anything like this before.”

Sandra Jones, Clinical Director at East Cheshire Hospice.