Monday 5th October marks the start of national Hospice Care Week (5th-11th October 2020), an annual awareness-raising week to help raise the profile of hospice care across the UK.
And as the UK heads towards a winter battling a second wave of COVID, there has never been a better time to shine a spotlight on the difference hospice care can make to patients and their families.
LOROS Hospice nurses and doctors are here every day making that difference, despite the lockdown restrictions that have affected Leicester for more than six months.
Odelle Watkins is an Apprentice Healthcare Assistant and has worked on the LOROS inpatient ward for the past 11 months. Treating patients as individuals is at the heart of LOROS hospice care.
“How would I want my grandma cared for, if she was on the ward at LOROS? I’d want her treated as a person, an individual, with her own needs. And that’s how I treat my patients – how I would want someone I love cared for. I hold that at all times”, says Odelle.
That personal care became even more important when, at the height of the pandemic, visiting was suspended and patients were unable to see their families.
“It felt like a huge responsibility. As families were not able to visit, we put all our efforts into making patients feel even more cared for.
Odelle struck upon the idea of using iPads to keep patients and families in contact.
“Even if the patient was asleep, we held the iPad so the family could see them and talk. Similarly with phone calls, I held the phone to their ear, even if they were too ill to speak, so they could hear their relatives talking. The nurses say hearing is the last sense to go so I think they knew they were there.”
Odelle and the nurses go to great lengths to ensure patients feel cared for. This can be as simple as playing their favourite music or reading to them.
“We had a lady on the ward who was quite religious but was too ill to read her bible. Every day we took it in turns to read her some passages from it and leave the book in her hands, to just bring her comfort.
“Whenever we have patients who don’t speak English I google a few words to find out how to say ‘hello’. It can make all the difference when patients are feeling anxious.
“I think that is the difference at LOROS - we just find the time. Just 10 minutes undivided attention can make the world of difference to a patient. I’m so proud to work here.”
John Knight, LOROS CEO, added, “We’re delighted to shine a light on our care of patients and their families this Hospice Care Week, as they are so central to everything we do. We’re here for them and in these uncertain times, and will continue to go the extra mile to put their needs first.”
Visit loros.co.uk/here to see how LOROS Hospice is here for patients and families and how they’re making a difference.
Please note: Some photographs were taken prior to the COVID-19 pandemic
