My dad was diagnosed in 2022 with Mesothlioma, a rare form of lung Cancer. Due to the diagnosis he was discharged from the hospital we were in and transferred for care at the Cancer Centre.
Here we were seen and given information on the disease support groups and due to the the type of cancer were offered Chemo to prolong his life but not cure it.
My dad underwent the one course of chemotherapy and after a period of time was discharged into the care of the NI Hospice, this was the only contact he had in the community until the time came to have a syringe driver inserted, then district nurses came out every day and he got a care package of one visit per day by one person.
As a family we provided all of his daily care such as meals, shopping, washing etc...
We found that due to the lack of resource of the hospice the care was sporadic, we had a number of different nurses who didn't get the time to know my dad, they just really tried to manage the pain and told us to contact the GP if there were any other concerns. However, we found it difficult getting access to a GP.
My dad's condition deteriorated he was in pain and his breathing was a problem. At this stage he had no oxygen and we watched him struggle to breathe and slump into periods of drowsiness as his oxygen levels were so low. It was during this time he was fortunate enough to be referred to a community respiratory team and we got a visit from Macmillan respiratory nurse called Paul based in North Belfast.
Paul was the most caring, professional, committed nurse we ever came across. He called to the house regularly, rang weekly and later daily, he ordered oxygen to help my dad breathe and equipment to enable him to have some quality of life. Paul provided our family with support and information right to the end and continuously told us what we should expect.
When my dad became very ill nurses from the hospice came out more often and advised him to go into the hospice to try and manage his pain better. He agreed and spent two days there before he passed away.
The care he received as an inpatient was amazing. All the hospice staff were kind, caring and professional at all times. It such a pity that the care in the community is under resourced as there are a number of nurses who did care but were being pulled from pillar to post.
We felt after being discharged from the Cancer Centre it was a battle to receive care. We also felt under supported from the GP surgery and hospice. We rang out of hours doctors on two occasions and as his condition was palliative, doctors never came out.
Without the support of the district nurses and Paul the Macmillan Respiratory nurse I think we would have struggled to cope.
Staff attitude
Environment
Staff skills
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