"None of this would have been possible without this team"

Although in her late eighties, my wife had minimal contact with the NHS.

A caesarean section and a couple of age-related problems namely macular degeneration and heating problems.

In recent years my wife was affected by a degree of dementia but this did not impact in her routines which included bringing me my tea in bed each morning.

Daily walks of ¾ mile to 1 mile and very frequent visits for coffee and buns to various favourite establishments.

At the turn of the year my wife developed a severe infection, she had no symptoms whatsoever, there was no pain, not even minor discomfort.

Her temperature was normal, BP excellent, however her mobility was slightly impaired.

In late January, while dressing my wife slid from the bed and sat on the floor.

Although there was no trauma the ambulance service called to pick her up, they informed her GP of the incident. Dr Zafar.

Dr Zafar contacted us immediately and asked us to attend the surgery the next day for tests.

The test results indicated my wife had a gross infection somewhere in her body and due to her further decline in health he recommended referral to Enhanced Care At Home Team (ECAHT).

During the last week of January the ECAHT became involved and by the end of that week had achieved the following.

1. Complete medical assessment, including body and brain scans.

2. Equipment installed to meets my wife's needs.

3. Carers attending twice per day.

4. Physio and occupational therapy support.

5. Three courses of antibiotics

6. Installation of just in case medicines

Even with this level of support my wife’s condition deteriorated and toward the end of February assessed the need for a hospital bed, which was delivered only 3 working days later.

My wife arrested in early March, her final moments were painless; at home; and in the company of the people who meant the most to her, who had shared her final weeks, a perfect ending.

I feel very fortunate to have been able to choose to keep my wife of 62 years at home but none of this would have been possible without the support of ECAHT.

As someone who spent his entire working life in the manufacturing Industry I am a fair judge of competence and professionalism. The co operation across Doctors/nurses/ physios/occupational therapy equipment supplies was perfectly balanced to achieve to best and speediest results.

Furthermore, as an accountant, I feel that the care at home compared to hospital costs and the cost of bed blocking is a financial no brainier.