“I’ve not got a nice future to face - but now, I can face it without fear.”
Teesside Hospice might be a place where people facing terminal illness come to receive end-of-life care. But it’s also a godsend for those who use it.
The word hospice may have a taboo of doom and gloom for those who have never visited - but staff and patients, who have created their own “little hospice family”, say the Middlesbrough inpatient facility couldn’t be more beautiful.
This week, The Northern Echo visited Teesside Hospice to speak to staff and patients about the importance of the “vital” facility - just weeks after real concerns were raised over the financial future of the hospice sector.
“It’s like no other,” Pamela Jobling told The Echo at the Linthorpe site. “It’s like a family here. It’s like a very nicely managed hotel with care facilities, it really is beautifully managed.
“Nobody is ever too busy for you.”
The 57-year-old, who has a terminal illness, said she was scared before coming to Teesside Hospice - but that she and her family are now relaxed.
She added: “When I was given a terminal diagnosis, I was scared. I’d been in a care home before and it didn’t work out. I was scared it was going to happen again.
“I came here, and I was looked after. I can’t explain what it is like. If I’m in any pain, I can just ask for relief, I’m kept clean…
“It’s not just the person either - they deal with my family too. I can come in any day and all the staff are up to speed with what my family are doing.
“My family are so relaxed about my level of care here. I’ve not got a nice future to face - but I can face it without fear.”
The Marske mother-of-two said she was once asked what she wanted out of the care at Teesside Hospice and told them all she wished for is to pass away “in peace, pain-free, and happy” - a promise that she is content the hospice will keep.
‘It would be sadly missed’
Teesside Hospice, described as a "home from home", features 10 ground-floor rooms with 24-hour specialist care, and a doctor on call at all times.
Patients have varying lengths of stay, depending on their needs, with the hospice also providing bereavement support and a well-being centre.
However, with costs increasing, the hospice currently expects to spend around £600,000 more than it will earn from various income sources this year.
Chief executive Mike Thornicroft said the hospice had been “rescued” by unexpected legacies in wills in recent years - and was consistently planning to spend more than the income generated.
It comes amid a worrying time for the sector nationwide, with charity Hospice UK saying it has to rely on a larger income from charity shops than Government funding.
“It would be sadly missed if it were to go,” Ian Crawford, who has been using the service for just one week, told The Echo.
The 73-year-old, who had previously been receiving treatment from the University Hospital of North Tees, in Stockton, argued the sector was underfunded.
The Norton resident said: “Places like this, the Government is underfunding. They are not putting enough money in. I can only hope they can do something about it.
“It is beautiful here. It is just the way the staff treat you, it is lovely. They look after everything and your dignity - they are all really nice and it makes a big difference.”
‘I thought it was all doom and gloom - it’s not like that at all’
Senior health care assistant Paul Margery might have worked at Teesside Hospice for 14 years - but even to this day, he says it doesn’t feel like work when he walks through the doors.
He explained: “I started as a community on bank, as we call it, and I really took to it.
“They asked me to consider going for a full time job and I went for it. I wasn’t guaranteed it but I was lucky enough to get the job.”
Paul admitted that the word hospice has a taboo, but that as soon as families step through the door, they are welcomed into the “home from home” where every patient knows you by name.
“They come in on day one and they are anxious. But even as soon as day two, they have relief on their shoulders,” Paul said.
“I think people hear the name hospice and it just puts people off. We have this all the time. It is amazing. Absolutely amazing.”
Healthcare assistant Kerry Grace admitted that, before working at Teesside Hospice, she did worry it would be “all doom and gloom”.
She said: “But it is not like that at all. I’ve been here for two years this year and it is amazing. The patients here are given the best care, it’s personal to each patient.
“There are things in here that you wouldn’t be able to get in a hospital.
“But we don’t just look after the patient, we look after their family too. Sometimes, we even see them more than our own family! Every family member can’t thank everyone enough.”
Paul added: “It’s that personal touch. It doesn't feel like work. There is so much joviality and happiness here.” Kerry said: “It’s like a little hospice family here”
But there are fears that this fantastic family-orientated hospice could face an uncertain future.
Teesside Hospice continues to rely on the community to fund its service, with the NHS funding just 25 per cent (£1.6 million) of running costs. This means the local community needs to provide £4.7m to balance the books every year.
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Mr Thornicroft previously told how “serendipitous” legacies were ensuring the charity could make a small surplus each year.
He argued that the NHS should be providing more funding, as “all hospices provide support to people who would otherwise be using the NHS".
He said: “However, due to their own financial constraints, the NHS continues to only fund a small proportion of hospice operating costs.
"If this continues it is only a matter of time before hospices will no longer be financially viable.”
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