Blythe House celebrates five years of Hospice at Home service

The High Peak’s Blythe House Hospice is marking the fifth anniversary of a hugely successful service which ensures patients can die in the comfort of their own home if they wish to.
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Since its inception in 2016, the Hospice at Home service has supported over 880 patients, and provided more than 57,200 hours of palliative and end of life care in people’s homes.

Janet Dunphy, Blythe House Hospicecare and Helen’s Trust CEO, said: ‘We are immensely proud of our Hospice at Home service and everything that it has achieved in its short but staggering lifetime so far.

"Founded thanks to a generous donation left in the will of a local person, the service has grown and evolved over the past five years, and is seen as an essential provider of the highest quality end of life care by our funders, fellow providers and community professionals.

Hospice at Home healthcare assistants and Janet Dunphy, hospice CEO, at the service’s launch party back in 2016Hospice at Home healthcare assistants and Janet Dunphy, hospice CEO, at the service’s launch party back in 2016
Hospice at Home healthcare assistants and Janet Dunphy, hospice CEO, at the service’s launch party back in 2016

"The past year during Covid-19 especially, we have seen the importance of people wishing to stay safe at home, instead of being admitted to hospitals or other in-patient units where no family or visitors have been permitted. Hospice at Home has enabled so many local patients to stay at home, with their loved ones beside them.”

During the past year alone, the 24/7 service has enabled over 190 local patients to stay safe at home, helping to alleviate this pressure on NHS services during the Covid-19 pandemic and since March 2020, Hospice at Home healthcare assistants have provided over 17,000 hours of care, to patients across 20 local towns and villages.

The service receives referrals for several reasons, including ensuring a patient can return home from hospital safely; so that a family member or carer can get some much-needed rest; and so patients are able to die in the comfort of their own home, surrounded by their loved ones.

Since its partnership with Helen’s Trust began in September 2020, support now extends beyond the High Peak and Hope Valley into the Derbyshire Dales and

North East Derbyshire.

Janet added: “We are grateful to the hundreds of local families who’ve allowed us into their homes to provide compassionate care to patients who wish to die with dignity in their own, comfortable surroundings. We are looking forward to the next five years and beyond, to continue the Hospice at Home legacy.”

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