ellenor

We have never been more dependent on support from our volunteers than in the face of the current pandemic. Terry Ludlow, one of our regular couriers, has stepped up to the plate magnificently in recent months, upping his hours so that vital medical samples can be delivered to hospital, and ensuring donations of everything from food to flowers are collected from our corporate supporters.

When Jazz’s fiancé died, she was left feeling “broken”. But the support she found at our bereavement group has helped her through the pain of grief. The 31-year-old project manager says: “The aftercare I have received from ellenor has been nothing short of incredible.”

We are a charity supporting those with life-limiting illnesses and their families. We believe in offering support for body, mind and spirit, empowering patients and those who care for them to stay as strong as possible, for as long as possible. Here, Andrew Lowden – our interim Head of Wellbeing – explains the benefits of this multi-disciplined, holistic approach.

The wellbeing services ellenor provides lie at the heart of the hospice’s total package of care. Operational Wellbeing Lead Andrew Lowden explains the importance of going beyond patients’ clinical needs and helping them and their families navigate the psycho-social complexities of living with a life-limiting condition

If death is a taboo, how can you encourage people to open up about grief and bereavement? Moreover, how do you break down those walls and stigmas that society has built up around the topic of loss, and help those who’ve experienced it come to terms with those feelings?

We are a charity that provides hospice care and support to patients and families facing life-limiting illnesses in the Kent and Bexley communities. As well as offering palliative and end of life care to patients, we also provide a range of wellbeing services and complementary therapies, which include spiritual and emotional care, as well as respite and bereavement support.

Treatment Escalation Plans (TEPs) aim to empower patients who are frail or with life-limiting illnesses, in conjunction with their family and the GP/doctor responsible for their care, to explore the treatment options available to them – and ensure that appropriate preparation has been made for a supported, symptom-free end of life period. Here we explain what TEPS are and why they’re so important.

“I see it as a gate that opens onto the last part of life’s journey”, says Angela Cooke, Practice Development Lead. “You’re going through a garden, walking along a path. You’re talking to somebody and admiring the flowers that they and their family have planted. You’re beside them to support them, should they trip.

We support patients with life-limited illnesses and their families within the Kent and Bexley communities. While we provide care from both inpatient and outpatient units in Northfleet – in addition to a range of wellbeing services – the majority of our work takes place within the community. That’s both from the homes of our patients, as well as a number of local care homes, too.

As one of our team of four doctors, Dr Sheraz Majeed’s role is more than a clinical one. In line with our ethos of ‘holistic care’, which pledges to treat the patient and their family, rather than the illness alone, Dr Majeed’s chief responsibility is to understand the individual needs of the patient.