Durrington’s St Barnabas House launches Hospice at Home service

Hospice at Home was launched at the end of May, and since then has provided practical palliative care for 108 people, allowing them to die in their own home.

For Geraldine Lee-Uff-Zyms and her late husband Wojciech Zyms, being given the chance to have end-of-life care at home was very important.

Geraldine, 60, of Jib Close, Littlehampton, said: “My husband wasn’t the sort of person who would want to come into the day centre, as that wasn’t his bag.

“We both wanted for him to be at home, where everyday life was still around him, and he could enjoy the garden and be around when the phone would ring and people would send their well wishes.

“The care was superb, you are never on your own and the support is there all the way. I can’t praise it highly enough.

“I would have got through without it, because you always do, but it would have been so much more difficult.”

The Hospice at Home team is headed-up by nurse Linda Barrett and there are five healthcare assistants and an admin assistant.

Geraldine and Wojciech were visited by a member of the team every day in the two weeks leading up to Wojciech’s death from mouth cancer on August 4.

One of the team spent an hour or two helping to get Wojciech up, as well as advising on medication and other things.

For the full feature, see this week’s Herald and Gazette papers.