"Amazing experience with the NHS Fife Palliative Team"

Our Mum was diagnosed with untreatable cancer at the end of March, which was an absolute shock to us all. From the initial diagnosis, the care our Mum received was fantastic, the colorectal nurse specialists were so kind to us all and it felt like they really cared about our Mum's journey. They were also great with organising the next steps for Mum and acted quickly. Once the Palliative Team and District Nurses were involved they were just amazing. They really paid attention to Mum and treated her with such kindness, I wish I could remember their names, we were completely blown away with the care they provided. They were great with my brothers and I also, reassuring us and keeping us informed, we really felt like we were a part of the decisions being made, and they were so patient with our million questions and worries. The day our Mum passed away was so surreal, she had only been diagnosed around weeks prior, and had only been told at the end of April she was untreatable. She never wanted to know how long she had, and we respected that, and I think in ourselves we knew she didn't have long but for it to be so soon was hard to comprehend. The night before and that morning she had been unsettled so we called the Palliative Team number to ask for someone to come see her, the nurse that came out was so nice, he was able to talk to Mum about her pain and made recommendations for her care going forward. He also suggested he return later to see her once the carers were there so he could talk to them about Mum's care, which he did, he also advised us to call if we needed anything, he was very reassuring. Later that day, the carers returned (I think one was the Lead, she was able to prescribe) to see Mum and sort her pain relief, they also came back an hour later to check on her. At this point we were informed that Mum didn't have long, they could see we were distressed and stayed as long as they could, they also organised a visit from Marie Curie to provide extra support. Mum sadly passed away a couple of hours later, minutes before Marie Curie arrived. The next morning the carers came to our Mum's house just to check in, they brought a wee sympathy card with them which was so lovely. Absolutely every team member we interacted with were amazing, the staff who answered the phone were so lovely and compassionate, I never felt like a burden calling them. The staff who came out to see Mum were always so nice to her, she lit up when they came in and the care afterwards from Marie Curie was great, they were so understanding and caring. Myself and my brothers honestly can't thank the team enough, we were absolutely terrified, this was our first experience of dealing with terminal illness and death and the team really helped us through that. The reassurance and talking us through everything really helped, and you could see the team really do care about their patients, we 100% know our Mum's needs were put first. It's the most difficult situation we have been in and we really believe it would have been a lot harder without the Palliative Teams care and support. We are so grateful for everything the team done that day and the days leading up to our Mum's passing, she was lucky to have them.