Cornwall LivingIssue #153

Time to Care

One of the most precious things we have is time. Making the most of it is important; even more so when it is limited.

Cornwall Hospice Care is a 24/7 Cornish healthcare charity that provides compassionate, specialised end of life care for patients, their families and carers. They offer inpatient care at Mount Edgcumbe and St Julia’s Hospices, Lymphoedema clinics, community support hubs, and bereavement services. This is free, thanks to the Cornish community, who generously support their work in many ways.

Making time matter for patients is key. At their two hospices they have time to help people fulfil their wishes, from a special meal to a visit from their pet or a party with friends. We asked members of their Ward Teams to share their stories of how they made a day matter for a patient.

Sarah is one of the Senior Staff Nurses at St Julia’s Hospice in Hayle. She offers her thoughts. “For me it’s the little things that make a difference. All our rooms lead on to a courtyard garden so patients can enjoy the greenery, the flowers and the colour, which I think is so important when people have been in hospital and haven’t had access to the outside. We’re also very lucky to have Paradise Park on our doorstep and they’re extremely kind and generous. We had one particular person who really wanted a last day out with their family and they had an amazing day thanks to the park.”

Healthcare Assistant at Mount Edgcumbe, Elaine, says, “I’ve been here for 26 years and I love it, it’s an amazing place to work. I’m here to tell you a little story that happened to me a few months ago. There were two small children visiting a patient in room 2, a little girl of about three and her brother who was about six. They were face-painting, so I told them I was going to a party after work and wondered if they’d like to do my face. I got on the floor and they had their creative moment on my face. You know it can be hard to come into the hospice, particularly for children, so it’s good to do things and help them make a memory that’s fun. It was hilarious and as I still had two hours to go on my shift, I had to visit other patients and see their reactions.”

Mark, a Housekeeping Supervisor at St Julia’s Hospice concludes, “We don’t do the hands on caring, like washing and giving medicine, we tend to go in to patient’s rooms and chat. Sometimes we have a laugh and we talk about normal things because that’s what patients tend to want to hear about. Sometimes they want to know about day-to-day things, sometimes they’re planning their funerals or their wakes. There was one lady with whom I always had a good old chat and it seemed that every time we were talking the geese flew over. She told me that when she left to go home, if she heard geese, she always thought of me and the hospice and the laughs and jokes we shared. She passed away and now when I hear geese, I think of her.”

Cornwall Hospice Care’s purpose is to provide compassionate, specialised end of life care for patients, their families and carers whilst maintaining high-quality standards. Together with their local community in Cornwall they will continue to make every day matter.

DID YOU KNOW

This is how Cornwall Hospice Care supported people across the county in the financial year 2023/24.
387 patients were cared for at their two hospices.
53% of their patients were admitted from home.
34% of their patients returned to their home or care home after treatment.
1,727 appointments with their Lymphoedema specialists, that’s a 28% increase on the number of people they helped in the financial year 22/23.
1,810 appointments with their Bereavement Counsellors – 76% of which were for pre-bereavement support.
462 people used their community bereavement services.
Their trained volunteers managed 563 calls to their Listening Ear Service.