Category: Staff

East Cheshire Hospice has further strengthened its dementia team as it looks after an increasing number of patients and carers.

The newest addition to the team is specialist dementia nurse Sara Jones who brings a wealth of experience.

The Hospice has run dementia programmes from its Macclesfield site for the last 10 years.

Dementia nurse Sara Jones.

Those courses have been gradually extended locally over that period due to demand, while the charity also had a long-term aim to serve other locations in Cheshire East.

To meet that need, communities in Knutsford, Poynton, Wilmslow and Congleton communities all now have dedicated carer wellbeing programmes.

The dementia team at East Cheshire Hospice.

Sara joins the Hospice from the End of Life Partnership where she was an Admiral Nurse in its advanced dementia support team.

The Crewe-based charity delivers education around end-of-life care.

Sara also has experience of working in a hospice setting after starting her nursing career in neurosurgery and intensive care.

She said: “I’m thrilled to join the Hospice which has a great reputation for palliative care.

“There aren’t many specialist dementia nurses in the area and my role will be to help deliver programmes to patients and carers out in our community. It’s important our services are as accessible as possible.”

Debbie Kassas, Specialist Dementia Nurse and Dementia Lead at the Hospice, said: “People can self-refer and attend courses in any of our areas. Dementia awareness is improving, so more people are seeking support.” Call 01625 666990 or visit www.eastcheshirehospice.org.uk/dementia-support for more details.

A new-look lymphoedema service run by East Cheshire Hospice is hoping to welcome even more cancer patients.

Dozens of patients have already attended sessions at the charity’s Sunflower Living Well Centre (SLWC) within the first six months.

That success encourages Lymphoedema Specialist Nurse Vick Sayers to believe that more people can also benefit.

Criteria for referrals is that lymphoedema must be directly related to cancer or its treatment. Examples are arm swelling after surgery or radiotherapy for breast cancer.

Patients learn about the four cornerstones of lymphoedema management – skin care, exercise, lymphatic drainage massage and compression garments.

Vick said: “Caseload numbers have increased since we developed the programme and there must be others requiring help.

Vick Sayers, who runs the lymphoedema service at East Cheshire Hospice. 

“We want to make everyone aware that support and help is available here for those who need it. Patients must be referred by a healthcare professional.

“The service was shut during the SLWC renovations, but referrals have started to come in again.”

The Hospice also runs a lymphoedema support group meeting on a fifth Tuesday in a month.

Vick said: “All sessions focus on educating and empowering patients to self-manage their care, as lymphoedema is a lifelong condition.

“The lymphatic system is vital but often overlooked and underappreciated. It is crucial for immune function, fluid balance and detoxification.

“When a patient has breast cancer surgery their focus, understandably, is on removing the cancer.

“They may be unaware they may be left with swelling in the arm for the rest of their life and may need to wear a compression garment. This can have a psychological impact on their body/self-image.”

Vick was a district nurse for eight years.

She said: “A background in palliative care and bandaging leg ulcers etc helped me understand how fluid exchange works.

“I see new patients recently diagnosed and many who have had lymphoedema for years. I see outpatients on a regular follow up basis until their lymphoedema is controlled and stable.

“The group sessions are fantastic for peer support, sharing techniques and tips, as well as exercising with others in a similar situation. The feedback has been extremely positive.”

Sessions run weekly on Tuesdays (1.3o-3 pm) at the Sunflower Centre. The referral form is on the Hospice website www.eastcheshirehospice.org.uk/how-to-refer.

* Lymphoedema is a chronic condition characterised by swelling in the body’s tissues. It most commonly affects the arms, legs, head and neck. Secondary lymphoedema can be caused by cancer and its treatment

Chief Executive Karyn Johnston received a special surprise to coincide with 10 years of service at East Cheshire Hospice.

Karyn was given a prestigious award for community service by Clare Hayward MBE DL, the High Sheriff of Cheshire.

The award, made at Art Fair Cheshire, recognised Karyn’s efforts leading a team which continues to put the Hospice at the forefront of end-of-life care.

Karyn joined the Hospice as head of income generation before assuming the role of chief executive six years ago.

Karyn said: “This recognition only came to me because I work with great people. I know this award is down to the team effort.

“I was embarrassed to receive a personal accolade which really belongs to my colleagues and others who support the Hospice in many different ways.”

Karyn Johnston (left) with Clare Hayward MBE DL, the High Sheriff of Cheshire.

The Hospice cared for a record 1,277 patients and thousands of family members last year, further illustrating its value to the community.

Karyn said: “Last year, via all our services, we helped the most patients in any single year in the Hospice’s history.

“That was before the extension of our new Sunflower Living Well Centre, which opened in April, so we can probably expect that figure to go up this year.

“Our aim is to help more patients year-on-year. We are driven by the needs of the community.

“For instance, we realised that people in the community wanted more care at home, so we added two more teams to our Hospice @Home service.

“This doubled the number of our teams serving our community in the comfort of their own homes.

“Our ambition does not diminish in the slightest. We’ll soon be announcing another big project to make end-of-life care even more accessible.”

The 25^th year of the Art Fair was once again a major success, raising vital funds for the Hospice.

A VIP gathering to launch the fair raised a substantial sum from the sale of artwork, setting a pattern of generous giving which continued during the week-long event.

Karyn said: “The Art Fair was yet another glorious example of a superb collective effort, involving artists, buyers, sponsors and other supporters, including our wonderful volunteers.”

Art created by schools and colleges added to the community feel, as did a special display by those who access childhood bereavement counselling at the Hospice.

Guests included key Hospice sponsors and supporters, including Macclesfield MP Tim Roca.

Sponsors were AstraZeneca, The Little Greene Paint Company, Thorneycroft Solicitors, Estate Planning Solutions and MacPac.

The new-look Sunflower Living Well Centre at East Cheshire Hospice is already reaping rewards for patients and staff.

The £1.3m facility opened four months ago and is a vital community hub for healthcare.

An extensive range of services is available for day care patients diagnosed with a life limiting illness with more programmes on the way. Many patients can get involved with the arts and crafts that the activity coordinator provides.

Modern surroundings can be adapted for courses, enhancing the visitor experience.

Exactly how health care professionals envisaged it when plans were drawn up.

Sunflower Sister Sharon Hurley said: “Everyone is delighted with how we’ve settled into our new home. It’s a fantastic facility and most importantly provides the best possible environment for our patients and staff.

Sharon Hurley, Sister at the Sunflower Living Well Centre.

“It’s not often you go to a place where everything is brand spanking new. Everywhere is lovely, fresh and bright with reclining chairs that have pressure relief cushions and bifold doors which give patients access to the garden.

“I must admit we had to get savvy with all the gadgets, but we have piped music which means we could have ABBA in the dining room and Queen in the main room.

“We’ve become quite techy and it’s lovely to have a larger nurses’ station where we are situated near the patients.

The main lounge at the centre.

“The kitchen and dining room are in dementia friendly colours, and we love the glass corridor which avoids interrupting patients during their visit.

“There’s a quiet room with its calming environment. We can divide up the main room to hold separate activities.

“It’s still early days as we get things implemented. For instance, we may bring in volunteers to run activities at Halloween or Christmas.”

Staff mark the opening of the Sunflower Living Well Centre in April.

The extra capacity means the Hospice has started hosting stand-alone courses with the Look Good Feel Better charity.

Volunteers from the beauty and wellbeing industry offer advice remotely to cancer patients via a giant screen on the third Friday of every month, which is held here in the Sunflower living well centre.

The Sunflower centre have worked with the Macmillan cancer resource centre in Macclesfield who refer for these one-off sessions.

Leaflets are found within the Macclesfield area and on the Hospice website. Participants receive a goodie bag of products and courses for men will hopefully run in the future.

There is also a six-week Live Well Feel Well programme aimed at anyone living and coping with the effects of their illness and treatments.

There are multiple services including topics such as breathlessness, fatigue, anxiety, complementary therapies, befriending, art therapy, counselling, lymphoedema, physiotherapy, dementia support, motor neurone support, staying strong and keeping safe.

* Contact the Sunflower centre on 01625 665685 for full details.