Hospice appeal will provide items of comfort this Christmas

Trinity Hospice is appealing to the community to help buy or replace comfort items which will make an incredible difference to local families this Christmas.

The hospice hopes to buy special ‘cuddle beds’ which allow patients to spend precious moments enjoying a final cuddle in bed with loved ones while being cared for at the hospice on Low Moor Road, Bispham.

It also hopes to buy new reclining chairs to support patients out of bed in the hospice, new over-bed tables, mattresses and new sofas and chairs for its dedicated family room.

In total, the items will cost over £48,000, and will allow patients to spend treasured time with loved ones as they receive end-of-life care over the festive period and beyond.

Trinity’s In-patient Unit Manager, Colette Saville, said: “For our patients, little home comforts matter more than ever, so we do everything we can to make each room a home away from home.

“Every piece of equipment and furniture is important, not just because it allows us to provide our outstanding care, but because these are the places people will spend precious, final moments with those they love.

“Our well-used equipment has given hundreds of families comfort over the years. But now, there are many items that need replacing, and we’d love to be able to buy a new cuddle bed, so that patients can sleep, relax and snuggle with their loved one.

“We’re not the NHS, so items like beds, chairs and mattresses are not provided by the government. And because it’s costing us more today to provide the care we did last Christmas, replacing tired equipment hasn’t been a priority.

“But these items are vital for our patients, and not having somewhere for a wife to cuddle her husband; for a mum to sit at a bedside or families to relax away from the bedside is inconceivable.

“That’s why we’re asking for our community – the people we care for – to help us provide a Christmas in comfort for our patients and their loved ones.”

Last Christmas, David Gibson, 44, was cared for at Trinity, and his family stayed by his side.

His mum, Lynda Watkins said: “He had a lovely room at the hospice, and the nurses even helped to get David to his sister Claire’s for Christmas Day.

“He was discharged after Christmas as he didn’t need as much of the specialist support at the hospice, but later in January he started to loose strength, feel more pain, and he didn’t want us to have to provide hands-on care.

“He returned to Trinity for the final weeks of his life, and the hospice became a home from home.

“His son, Louis, could be a toddler there, run around and be with his daddy. We were there every day.

“I’ll never forget the nurses urging me to go and have a lie down in their guest room, because they were always around. And everything in David’s room was there to give us comfort and normality, a special bed for David, comfy chairs for his wife, Angela and I; it was like an extension of our home.

“Many people think a hospice is where you go to die. But for David, it was where he could live his best life – comfortable, safe, surrounded by love.”

To support Trinity this Christmas and help the hospice buy urgent equipment for patients to spend precious moments in comfort with their loved ones, visit www.trinityhospice.co.uk/christmas.