A new service, Seaton Hospice at Home, has launched across the Seaton area to provide end-of-life care in people's own homes.

Seaton Hospice at Home, a collaboration between the Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust and the Seaton and District Hospital League of Friends, provides expert palliative care to local patients and ongoing bereavement support to their families.

Patients living within the service’s catchment area can be referred by their consultant or GP; they, and their carers, will then have access to hands-on support from the nursing team, until the time of the patient’s death.

Richard Anderson, Community Health and Social Care Manager at the Royal Devon said:

'Inpatient hospices and hospital services are often a long distance away by public transport, so the Seaton Hospice at Home service provides a solution to a problem our patients may face at the end of their life: access for their loved ones to see them. Providing this dedicated team of palliative care nurses in the patient’s own home greatly increases their end-of-life experience, as well as that of those around them. We’re tremendously grateful to League of Friends for the funding they’ve provided to bring this service to fruition.'

Dr Mark Welland, chair of the Seaton and District Hospital League of Friends, said:

'We’re delighted to be funding the new Seaton Hospice at Home service. It will support patients in their dying months, weeks, and days, helping to meet their physical, psychological and emotional needs, as well as those of their families, with skill and compassion. This service will allow those who choose to spend their final days in their own homes to do so, regardless of their underlying diagnosis, with confidence and dignity.'

For more information on Seaton Hospice at Home, please email SeatonLOF@nhs.net or call 01297 20143.