Families praise expert care from unsung heroes of Trust palliative care team

Alongside his family and ever supportive wife Karin, John described the period after learning he had MND as, “Very trying. It was a difficult time and emotions were high.”

Following diagnosis, the Hillsborough couple were then referred to the South Eastern Trust’s Palliative Care team.

“When you hear the term Palliative Care you immediately think that time is running out and it is a bit frightening from that point of view,” John said.

John and Karin’s uncertainty in terms of his care were soon put to rest with the expert assistance and guidance of Advanced Practice Palliative Care Dietitian Tracy Haylett and the Team.

John described just how important the Palliative Care team have become within the Finlay family. “The team come in and they are cheerful, they are bright and they make you feel good,” he said.

“Tracy is brilliant. She will come in and scold me if I’m not doing the right thing,” laughed John. “I find it quite emotional talking about what the team do. I cannot emphasise how important they are. The team means everything.”

Karin said: “John had gone from a big, burly, DIY husband to somebody who was bent over at 90 degrees and had lost about three stone in weight within a year. When it came to the diagnosis you do realise that this is terminal. We both said, ‘life is terminal, we will just make the most of the time we have’.

“It wasn’t more than a few weeks after when the door-bell rang and in came the first of the Palliative Care team and that was Amy Blair the Physiotherapist.

"All of sudden you felt that arms had reached out to you, to hold you, and to stop you from falling any further.

“Tracy was next at the door and was so gentle. Tracy asked could she come in and talk to John and offered so much assurance, advice and guidance.”

Karin added how Palliative Care Speech and Language Therapist Sophie Whitehead has also been instrumental to John’s care as she has provided support and advice as John’s swallow has deteriorated and has also been involved in banking John’s voice.

Specialist Palliative Care Occupational Therapist Bridin O’Hare has also been providing assistance to the Finlay’s with providing equipment such as a wheelchair for John, shower stool as well as providing emotional support.

Karin continued: “[The team] don’t come in and talk about the gloomy side, they talk about the positive and I thank God for them. I just know that these arms are there to cushion us and support us and give us peace of mind. I want to thank them from the bottom of my heart.”

Advanced Practice Palliative Care Dietitian Tracy Haylett explained: “The team builds rapport with their patients.

"We build a relationship because unless you have that you are not going to be able to encourage people to make the changes that they need to.

“It is a privilege to come into people’s lives, into their homes and I wouldn’t work anywhere else.

"The Palliative Care service is essential and we give 100 per cent.”