“Coming to the Hospice was the one piece of luck she had”

17th March 2022

This year would have been the 50^th wedding anniversary of David Taylor and his wife, Barbara. We caught up with David recently to hear about her care here at St Luke’s with him here by her side. Having spent her final weeks at the Hospice in the summer of 2019, we also heard about how finally being pain free meant she that she could enjoy her last weeks with her family.

In the spring of 2019 Barbara Taylor started getting some bad pains in her stomach. She went to see her doctor and he initially thought it was just a strain caused by some torn muscles. But when she went back a week later and the pain had moved, the GP said that she needed to have an urgent blood test. She was referred to hospital as a walk in patient but David told us how difficult it was to get her there because she was in absolute agony. “I almost had to carry her down the stairs just to get her to the hospital.”

The following week she had to return for some more tests and it was a week later that the consultant told Barbara it was a tumour. That was in May 2019. Very sadly and shockingly, Barbara passed away just four weeks after her diagnosis.

Barbara’s worst fear was that her life would end there at the hospital. David told us, “She was in such pain one Sunday and fortunately we had a nurse from St Luke’s who had been visiting us here and she had left an emergency telephone number. I rang St Luke’s in the night and told a very helpful lady that Barbara was in real agony. She arranged for a GP to visit Barbara early the next morning and he determined that she needed to go into hospital.” He called an ambulance that arrived at 8.30am but luckily, at the exact same time, the nurse from St Luke’s rang to say that there was a bed here for her and that she could be accommodated at the Hospice in a room overlooking the rose garden. The nurse spoke to the ambulance driver and they agreed that she would come to the Hospice instead of to the hospital.

David spoke to us about how well Barbara’s pain was managed, “The Hospice was fantastic. As soon as we arrived the nurse was waiting for her. They assessed her and told me to get some coffee and immediately put her on morphine. The pain began to ease straight away and she started looking brighter. From then on she was a lot brighter. As her pain increased, they would increase her dosage but I would say that the whole time she was there, she was pain free. In fact the doctor told her that the nurses had said that she didn’t call them often enough! They looked after her pain extremely well. She was well enough to enjoy one of your music therapy sessions and we enjoyed a game of Scrabble. On the Tuesday before she passed away, I was able to use a wheelchair and wheel her around the rose garden. She deteriorated on the Thursday evening.”

David very sadly lost Barbara on Sat 22 June. Like so many others, he has since continued to be a part of the St Luke’s community, supporting the Hospice and joining in with events. Asked why he thinks others should support the Hospice, he said, “St Luke’s do a fantastic job looking after people at the end of their life and they give people a choice. Barbara did not want to be in hospital at the end of her life. One stand out moment for me was when Mary, the nurse, had helped to make Barbara look wonderful for my visit. They had showered her, washed and did her hair and she looked really great. Getting that place at the Hospice was the one piece of luck she had”.

With many thanks to David Taylor for sharing his experience with us.

Cancer patient Sharmila Doshi tells us about how transformational she has found our wellbeing services.

23rd February 2022

“A few days before my chemo I don’t know what was happening to my hands. They were fully stuck. Tonia managed to call the physio and massage therapist for me and Deirdre, the Complementary Therapy Lead, did a massage so that I can make chapatis again! I’m able to make my chapatis with the rolling pin. I was crying thinking I would never make them again any time and now it is possible, I was so happy when I made a chapati for the first time.”

Sharmila Doshi

Sharmila Doshi was shockingly and suddenly diagnosed with ovarian cancer last year. She had no prior symptoms but went to see her GP because of stomach pain. Then following an MRI and CT scan at hospital, she was told that she had an 18cm cyst on her ovary. She had an operation on 16 November and then began on a course of nine chemo sessions over three cycles.

Tonia Canino, a clinical nurse specialist here at St Luke’s recalls the first time that she met Sharmila after receiving a referral.  “I went off to see Sharmila and at that time she wasn’t in particularly good health. In fact, the first time we met I had to send her into hospital as she was acutely unwell; her tummy was massive, full with fluid.”

Sharmila remembers, “Tonia came to my home two or three times, when I told her my hands were in too much pain and that I couldn’t move my hands to my shoulders. I had gone to the GP but they told me the waiting list for physiotherapy would take two or three months. It was then that Tonia recommended I try complementary therapy at St Luke’s Hospice. That’s when I started coming here.”

Deirdre Rice, Complementary Therapy Lead performing massage therapy

She continued, “A few days before my chemo I don’t know what was happening to my hands. They were fully stuck. Tonia managed to call the physio and massage therapist for me and Deirdre, the Complementary Therapy Lead, did a massage so that I can make chapatis again! I’m able to make my chapatis with the rolling pin. I was crying thinking I would never make them again any time and now it is possible, I was so happy when I made a chapati for the first time.”

The wellbeing services that are offered at the Hospice can be crucial to a patient’s enjoyment of life and it was not just the freedom to use her limbs again that Sharmila needed.

Tonia explains why she felt that Sharmila also needed to come to some music therapy sessions. ”Sharmila was really scared, weren’t you? Mountains of anxiety generally about the cancer, and you weren’t sleeping. I remember Sharmila saying to me, that the first day she took part in our deeply relaxing sound therapy with Alan she slept in the chair. That was without any sort of medication.”

Alan, Music Therapy Volunteer

Alan’s relaxation techniques were so powerful that Sharmila asked him to send them to her mobile phone so that she could use them at home. “Ever since then I’ve done it all the time.”

And since then, Sharmila says that the Hospice has been like her second home – “You feel like you’re at home and you’re happy, you know sometimes people with a serious illness can feel low but once I came here my mood was lifted by more than half.  Tonia is like my mum. She’s amazing. It’s lovely. Everyone here is nice. I told my family, “if you find out you have cancer – you should go to St Luke’s Hospice, the people are very nice, nicer than family members!”

“I often feel dizzy as a side effect of the chemotherapy and I don’t go out of the house, but I make sure that I’m coming to St Luke’s on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Every person I’ve met here in St Luke’s, everyone has shown me lots of love. They all look after me.”

Sharmila still has nine more chemo treatments to go but she is feeling positive and importantly, the wellbeing treatments are helping her to feel well.

She adds, “Thank you for helping me to feel positive again. I love it here. When I feel better I want to volunteer at a charity shop or make some food and bring to the patients. I’ll do textile work, I’ll make my sarees and dresses. You give me the positivity to do this again.”

Celebrating the 35th anniversary of St Luke’s Hospice

20th January 2022

“Everybody that works at St Luke’s has St Luke’s in their hearts, and it is open to everyone. I knew right from the start that one of the most important parts of the care we gave was the little things. It is the little things that can make all the difference.”

Ann Hatswell

Remarkably, this year is the 35^th anniversary of St Luke’s Hospice! It is quite incredible to look back on its humble beginnings and reflect on the journey that has brought us to where we are today.

It all began back in 1987 when preliminary plans were first drawn up and offices were set up in St Augustine’s Church, Wembley and fundraising to set up the hospice began. By 1989 enough funds had been raised to start a home care service, with local GP Elizabeth Milne at the helm of the Hospice Medical Committee.

In 1990, 59 Harrow View was purchased as the site for St Luke’s day care service and it opened a year later with our co-founder, Ann Hatswell, welcoming in the first patient.

But it wasn’t until 1993 that the Kenton Grange building we all know and love was purchased and that is when the plans for the Inpatient Unit first began. The day care unit moved into Kenton Grange and patients started to be treated in a holistic, multi-disciplinary way.

In 1994 fundraising really took off, with local celebrity Bob Holness leading a public appeal to help develop Kenton Grange. Two years later the fundraising team launched their first long distance walk. Now one of the most popular events in our fundraising calendar, these campaigns helped develop Kenton Grange into the building it is today.

Complete with a 12 bed Inpatient Unit, a day care Unit to enable more patients to be treated than at Harrow View, education and training facilities, a base for homecare nursing teams, clinical support facilities and a first rate kitchen, St Luke’s was officially opened by Her Majesty the Queen in 2001. The grand opening was a tremendous and exciting occasion for patients, volunteers and staff – some of whom are still with us today and remember the event well.

Ann Hatswell and HRH Queen Elizabeth II

With many new milestones met along the way since that day, including the launch of Patient and Family Support Teams, the Community Specialist Palliative Care Team, Hospice at Home, the Brent Carer’s Project, the opening of 18 charity shops, an Ebay shop, the Woodgrange Day Centre, The Care Home project, the Community Support Volunteer programme and many clinical innovations, the Hospice has been constantly evolving and striving to reach ever more people. We have cared for an estimated 14,550 patients to date.

In the most recent years, we are also enormously proud to have opened our Memory Garden. Generously supported by the Tasker family, the Memory Garden was created as a place for family and friends to visit to remember their loved ones, and feel connected with either the place where they died, or the wonderful support they were given whilst in our care. The garden is always open to visitors and is home to engraved bricks with personalised messages and rose plaques in memory of loved ones. It is also dedicated to Ann Hatswell, without whom, St Luke’s Hospice would not exist. 

St Luke’s Hospice Memory Garden

The garden was due to launch in June 2020 but this was postponed due to the pandemic.  Sadly in November 2020, Ann Hatswell died here at the hospice, but she was able to know that the memory garden existed and there was a dedication in her memory just 24 hours before her passing.  We officially opened the Memory Garden in the first week of July 2021.

As we embark on our 35^th year we very much hope to start welcoming more of you back into the Hospice again and celebrating all that you have helped us to do across the years. Happy Anniversary St Luke’s!

“I was humbled walking into their home”

18th January 2022

For many people at the end of their life, health conditions can be unpredictable and pain can fluctuate to the point where relatives and carers need frequent guidance from medical health professionals so having instant access to our clinical experts is hugely reassuring for all our Hospice users. As well as having the on-site Inpatient Unit here at Kenton Grange, we also support patients at their homes in the community.

The cost of care for six out of ten patients comes from our generous supporters so it’s the role of our Fundraising team to engage with donors and part of that is understanding how their money is spent. In order to gain first-hand insight, two of our staff went out with Tonia, our Clinical Nurse Specialist to see what goes into a home visit and the lengths to which our nurses go to support patients during their end of life care.

John Clifford, Corporate Partnerships Manager for St Luke’s Hospice, explains how he was feeling before visiting: “I was definitely nervous. I understood the responsibility I had as non-clinical staff being trusted in a clinical setting, this added to the already emotional atmosphere I had walked into. Part of my objectives were to understand how St Luke’s operates so I knew already that this was an opportunity to see our work in action.”

Jo Pearce, Head of Major Gifts, expressed how grateful she was to be allowed into such a sensitive space with a family who relied on St Luke’s during their time of need: “I was humbled walking into their home, many of their family couldn’t speak English so Tonia helped me learn a greeting in their native language to break the ice. I saw how she really went that extra mile to accommodate the patient’s family.”

What was clear early on in the visits was that complex needs of the patient were quickly addressed by Tonia. The patient Jo met was very distressed and the nurse quickly diagnosed them with terminal agitation, a type of delirium where the patient becomes restless and hostile. She controlled the patient’s pain levels through medication and reassured the family about what to expect from these symptoms and the next stages before death.

Jo said, “Tonia calmly told the family they were able to increase the patient’s pain relief dose significantly. The family breathed a sigh of relief at Tonia’s confidence. She continued to ask simple, but earnest questions to try and resolve problems, for example she’d say: ‘What would make the patient more comfortable right now?’ I was really moved when the son explained other stressors in his life and she calmly responded, ‘How are you?’ allowing the gentleman to break down into tears. Compassion is what was needed and that is what Tonia showed.”

With added pressure on the NHS, infrequent contact time with medical professionals can make it difficult to help patients with quickly-changing conditions, so it’s clear why patients and their families value their moments with our Community Team. John explains, “This experience has really put into perspective what I’m fundraising for. Real people benefit from our service, and if their wish is to stay at home during their final days, then it’s vital that we keep this free service funded.” We cannot thank our donors enough for keeping these vital services available.

“I’d never felt more appreciated and valued in my working life”

19th August 2021

Hello, I am Marie-Claire Rooney, a specialty registrar doctor at St Luke’s.

On joining St Luke’s last October, a second lockdown in England was announced, and then commenced shortly afterwards. It was a time of heightened anxiety for all, not least for our patients and their families.

Since then restrictions have eased and tightened, then eased and tightened again, and cases have waxed and waned. But one thing that has remained constant amidst all of this unpredictability is the incredible teamwork of the staff at St Luke’s Hospice.

Despite the challenging backdrop, the members of staff here have continued to smile through troubling times and have never stopped thinking of innovative ways to optimise patients’ and families’ experiences within the restrictions imposed. 

There is one example that stands out in my mind.

It involves an elderly lady who was transferred from hospital with covid-19 pneumonia, which sadly was not responding to treatment. Her only family were her 2 daughters, who lived in Ireland and could not visit due to travel restrictions.

However, they were obviously very dedicated and loving daughters, totally invested in their mother and keen to be kept up to date. We agreed that between the doctors and the nursing staff we would call them daily to give them a medical update.

We managed to control the patient’s respiratory distress with medication, however, the patient expressed her wish to connect with her daughters and grandchildren. Our incredible patient and family support team reached out to her daughters and suggested that her grandchildren write letters to grandma, which they did.

On a cold January morning a virtual “farewell visit” was set up for the patient. The patient’s daughters spoke with their mother over a video call, and the grandchildren were virtually present for when their letters were read to grandma. There was a great feeling of togetherness, not just amongst the patient and her family, but amongst the whole team. The doctors, nurses, HCAs & social workers alike. It was an emotional visit for all … but so very beautiful. A few hours later, our patient died peacefully.

On a personal level, I started my work here at St Luke’s Hospice feeling quite nervous as I stepped into my new role as a senior doctor, in a new workplace.

But I needn’t have worried.

My very first weekend on-call transpired to be quite exceptional by typical weekend standards. I’d attended the unit on the Saturday, reviewed the patients and carried out my duties as planned, then went home for the night, advising the nurses to call if they had any problems. At 2am I got a call about a community patient that we felt needed to come in, so I made my way into the hospice to clerk her. Following that, however, another patient from a neighbouring hospital was due to be transferred first thing on Sunday morning. It wouldn’t have been worth my while going home & coming back again, so I set up a bed on the couch in the kitchen upstairs and the lovely night staff got me blankets and tea and looked after me well. As if that wasn’t enough – one of the nurses bought me a beautiful bouquet of flowers the next day and later my consultants acknowledged and thanked me for my work. I couldn’t get over it! I was just doing my job! I’d never felt more appreciated and valued in my working life. It is a testament to the staff and the overall culture of St Luke’s Hospice. I’m so grateful to work in such a kind, giving and embracing place.

Sadly in October, I have to move on to another setting to continue my training, but the impact of working in such an incredibly supportive, innovative and loving environment will never leave me.

Of course, the creation of such an environment wouldn’t be possible without donations, our volunteers, and our friends for life – they are the heartbeat of the organisation, the sturdy foundations on which we build our walls. They have touched thousands of peoples’ lives through their generosity and I think I speak on behalf of everyone when I say a heartfelt and sincere thank you.

Through the turbulent and unpredictable times of late, this sturdy foundation remains. As Seamus Heaney says “if my dear there sometimes seem to be old bridges breaking … never fear. We may let the scaffolds fall confident that we have built our wall.”  

Thank you.

Celebrating 20 years of service!

25th June 2021

Today, our wonderful inpatient unit Healthcare Assistant, Joyce celebrated her 20th anniversary working at St Luke’s Hospice. 

We thank Joyce for the 20 years of service and dedication she has given to the hospice and the care, kindness and love she has shown to so many patients, families and colleagues over those two decades. 

Joyce said: “20 years ago I started my amazing journey at the hospice. Over 20 years I have watched St Luke’s grow and expand, being there for all who need help. I have grown in strength and feel enriched as a person. I have developed my knowledge, with a great interest in peoples’ beliefs and fears. There have been challenging times: work has taught me to take a step back, to always be there for everyone but also to be very much aware of my own wellbeing. My sense of humour has played a vital part in my working life. I have shed bucket loads of tears, held many many hands, given hugs and more hugs and said goodbyes to many. This is a very special part of my job.

“I have watched the wonderful Doctors coming and going, the work they do for patients and their kindness and dedication. Over the years I have worked with the most wonderful nurses and healthcare assistants who were complete angels. I remember in the early years’ daycare flourishing with Ann Hatswell at the helm, a truly beautiful spirit. Currently, we have a tight team at the hospice that really care about each other, look out for one another and most of all sense when something is wrong with another colleague.

“The seasons have come and gone and the gardens grown better and better: the wisteria is breathtaking hanging outside the patients’ rooms. 

“I am proud of my achievement in getting staff together each Christmas to celebrate and my legacy with regard to the Bluebell room. I always thought it was cold and lacked any spiritual feeling. I really wanted a stained glass window to be put in: I got the go-ahead and managed to get a specially commissioned stained glass windows put in for St Luke’s free of charge.

“I have been so lucky to be part of St Luke’s and had such wonderful memories. It has been a pleasure, life-changing, so humbling, unforgettable and been my special life’s journey that will continue.”

“St Luke’s became our special sanctuary”

8th June 2021

“When mum was referred through the GP over 11 years ago as an outpatient, St Luke’s became our special sanctuary for physical, therapeutic and community support. This time last year I really did not know where to turn! As an only daughter and part-time carer for my 91-year-old mother, our worst nightmare hit when I received a call from a paramedic during the height of the pandemic. I live an hour away from my mum so I had to negotiate so she could stay at home in the middle of the pandemic to keep out of hospital. A quick call to St Luke’s soon put us back on track with good advice, reassurance and continued support.

Regular support calls have helped us both through a very challenging year, we cannot thank the team at St Luke’s enough for their excellent outpatient care reaching to the wider community. I really do not know how we would have coped without their bespoke support.”