End of life care made the experience easier to bear

Name and address withheld.

The JEP has recently given coverage to end-of-life care in Jersey and in particular to the controversial Liverpool Care Pathway. Based on recent personal experience may I offer some reassurance to anxious patients and their families facing this distressing prospect?

A close and much loved member of our family was admitted to the General Hospital suffering from a number of progressive conditions, following a sharp deterioration that meant he could no longer be looked after at home. He was placed in the High Dependency Unit who cared for him during the last few days of his life.

I cannot speak highly enough of the tenderness and skilful nursing he received there. For much of the time he was surrounded by family members and the staff made no complaint about this, bending the rules a little so that one of us could be with him as much as possible.

As the end approached everything possible was done to make him comfortable and alleviate any pain and discomfort. We were kept fully informed in language we could understand about the treatment he was receiving, our views were sought when appropriate, and when he passed away we were treated with compassion and respect.

Whatever the instruction manual may say, when it comes down to it (as another correspondent pointed out) everything depends on the quality of nursing and the behaviour of the other healthcare staff involved. In this respect, based on our experience, the doctors and nurses in the High Dependency Unit cannot be faulted.

It was humbling to encounter this dedication and humanity in such upsetting circumstances, and made those circumstances easier to bear.