A daughter has urged people to donate to a care facility that gave her mother a 'peaceful sanctuary' in her final months. Colette Farley, from Long Eaton, has asked for people to help fund a raft of changes to Hayward House at Nottingham City Hospital, which cared for her mother Angela Farley, 94, before she died on November 19.
Patients with advanced and terminal illnesses are cared for at Hayward House by a specialist team of doctors, nurses and therapists. And on March 30, Nottingham Hospitals Charity launched a £1.5 million appeal to fund enhancements to the centre's garden area for patients and their families, improve the look of its main entrance, and expand palliative research and training.
Ms Farley, who works for a pharmaceuticals company, said that the centre provided a "peaceful sanctuary" for her mother and was the one place she felt comfortable leaving her. "My mum developed pulmonary fibrosis as a result of catching TB after the war. When she came here in May I was concerned she wouldn't get to her next birthday, but she picked up because of the amazing care and made her 94th birthday," she said.
"This garden is a very peaceful sanctuary for patients and friends. When my mum came in and passed away in November, she had a beautiful room that was overlooking the garden. The last thing my mum asked me was what the weather was like - and I told her it was a beautiful day.
"And what was amazing was that there were still flowers in the garden at that time at year, because it is so lovingly maintained. It has been funded by donations that people haven't been making during the pandemic, and it can't all run on fresh air.
"It allowed me to be her daughter and not her carer in her final days, I will always be thankful for everything they did for me. It was the the only place that I felt totally safe leaving her during Covid."
Colette's mum, who lived in Mapperley for many years, came to England from Ireland in 1947 after the Government invited people to move to the country after World War Two, and worked for the NHS. Ms Farley said that the planned improvements would make an "absolutely massive difference" to patients.
"I think it would make an absolutely massive difference, when my mum was here for several weeks in May unfortunately she didn't get the benefit of going out into the beautiful garden, with the the main challenge being the accessibility.
"To see it improved would be absolutely lovely, what people need to be mindful of is that during the pandemic is that palliative care services in particular have suffered a shortfall of donations, a lot of services like this are not funded by the NHS. You just wouldn't think that this was available inside a hospital, it is essential that people are aware of this because you never know when you might need the beautiful surroundings, the complementary therapy and emotional support too."
The launch campaign took place in the centre's garden, where a cherry blossom tree was planted by the Sheriff of Nottingham, Councillor Merlita Bryan, and wildlife cameras were set up. It was attended by staff, patients and family members and local schoolchildren from Seely Primary School.
Venkata Chaitanya, palliative medicine consultant at Hayward House, said: "It's going to be a huge change for us, particularly in terms of patient and family experience, they love the garden so enhancing that experience is a huge priority for us.
"The study centre faculties give us the opportunity to expand the education of palliative and end of life care to health and social care professional's across the ICS. The new contemplation area will also allow any patient, even if they can't walk and are in their bed, to get out there."
More than 1,000 patients are treated at the centre every year. This includes at outpatients, the inpatients unit, and a special day centre where patients can take part on therapeutic activities like art sessions and therapy.
Sarah Freer, lead nurse in palliative and end of life care at Nottingham University Hospitals, added: "Patients and families come with high expectations to Hayward House and they are at their most vulnerable. These changes will allow them to experience a greater level of care and bring the outside world closer to them.
"We will be able to educate staff better and allow patients and families to spend time together, which is the most important aspect. Many patients want to be outside and when you're in hospital it's hard to achieve them so to optimise them would be amazing."
You can donate to Nottingham Hospitals Charity's £1.5 million Hayward House appeal here.
