St Joseph's Hospice (London)

St Joseph's Hospice (London) 2018-11-25 Person 0 5 0

Very supportive and caring.

St Joseph's Hospice (London) 2018-11-25 Person 0 5 0

Excellent job, enjoyed the project with Matt.

St Joseph's Hospice (London) 2018-11-25 Person 0 5 0

Learning after my mistakes.

St Joseph's Hospice (London) 2018-11-18 Person 5 5 0

I and my friends have been amazed by the treatment here at St Joseph's. All the staff have been extremely caring and have respected our friend's wishes in his medical treatment and his personal care, even if it has meant things might be more time consuming for them which we have all hugely appreciated. It was very busy here when we first came in and it was tricky to get a side room - having one now has made such a difference and although I am sure it is difficult to know for sure when someone will die, trying to ensure those who are very near the end have a private room would (I think for most) mean the world. It's meant that some of us have been able to stay over, use the shower and above all, our friend can have peace and quiet - which has always been one of his big wishes. Having said that, when we were in the bay room, everything was done to help us feel comfortable there and although our friend still wanted to have a side room, we hugely respected the other gentlemen and their families and friends in there. We felt there was a silent camaraderie for those gentlemen and we have been saddened by the loss of some of those dear men in the last week. Our friend is not a frail old man, but had been extremely fit and healthy before he got cancer, so being treated with dignity has been very important, so thank you all for that. He has great hearing and is generally also of very sound mind in his awake moments, so we have really appreciated it when staff have spoken to him softly, intelligently, frankly and kindly and not as if he has lost his intelligence or is hard of hearing. He does get confused, of course, and is sometimes not always in our world due to the medication, but if things are repeated concisely and quietly, he is able to understand. Our friend has really enjoyed his stay here this time round, but did find it tricky the first time he was in here (for respite) and also when he was receiving care at home. However, having come here and stayed here for two weeks, I can understand why and how that happened. If possible, I think it might be good to manage expectations a little of what it might be like in here with your first meeting. Rightly or wrongly, our friend was, I think, expecting more care and attention while he was at home which caused more fear and panic when he became more ill as he didn't feel he had the support he needed. This has completely changed whilst being in here, but I thought it might be worth mentioning that I think just gently informing people that you have limited resources and do your best, but your attention (quite rightly) must be on those who are nearing the end of their life. That although things are extremely bad when you are months away from death, those who are a few weeks or days away, need more support. Explain, perhaps that they are likely not to hear from you and that they should contact you instead, at any time. Also perhaps explaining that those coming to stay are likely to stay in a bay room at first and those who are nearing the end or with embarrassing conditions or infections are likely to be given side rooms, so it is likely that those you are caring for will have to share a room initially. I think it would also be good to explain that at weekends, you have fewer staff and resources available too. We had difficulties getting in here when our friend has his recent decline. It happened late on a Friday night and although we tried to get in here on the Saturday morning, there just wasn't the staff available, so our friend ended up going to Homerton Hospital. They, again, tried their best, but are not nearly as trained in palliative care as the staff here. I will write to them separately, but from your side, I wonder if it might be worth mentioning that it is tricky to bring people in over the weekend due to lack of staff to drive the ambulances etc and perhaps organise a plan with those coming in to your care so they might properly prepare for an event such as the one we had. We were in Homerton for three (what felt like) very long days as there were no beds available here. It was just bad luck on our side, but I wonder if it might have been possible to have a plan in place at Homerton so that we would have been moved straight into Lloyd's Ward (much quieter and peaceful) rather than been kept in the noisy ACU for two nights. ACU is just not appropriate for someone nearing the end of their life. The second transfer from Homerton to here was great, but we had to move several times in just a week. It seemed like every time we moved (even just within the hospital) the care and medication timings changed dramatically which had an impact on our friend. In Homerton, we also had to keep a keen eye on his medication as the staff were so overworked there and they often didn't have the right medication ready or even available in the entire hospital. Having said all that, I do want to reiterate we have really appreciated all you have done for us and this is just to help for the next person. Here are some of the things we have loved about St Joe's: The drinks trolley Coca-cola The offers of all sorts of foods (despite our friend not eating much) The baths and offers to wash in the bed The fancy reclining and pressure relieving beds The softer hand wash The ice The blankets The possibility of sleeping over The Reiki, the Chapel, the massages, the cafe downstairs, the garden and garden room... But above all, the warmth, knowledge and kindness from your staff. THANK YOU.

St Joseph's Hospice (London) 2018-10-26 Person 0 5 0

St Joseph's Hospice (London) 2018-10-26 Person 0 5 0

There are no words to say. Greatly lovely people. God bless.

St Joseph's Hospice (London) 2018-10-26 Person 0 5 0

They could not improve, everything was excellent. The nurses are so caring and kind and sorry for my writing but I have very had arthritis.

St Joseph's Hospice (London) 2018-10-26 Person 0 5 0

Listening to issues is good.

St Joseph's Hospice (London) 2018-10-26 Person 0 5 0

St Joseph's Hospice (London) 2018-10-26 Person 0 5 0

Careful and attentive. Sometimes a bit noisy.