"Dorking District Nurses and Hospice night response team"

My mother and I would like to pass on some positive feedback on the Dorking district nurses and the Princess Alice Hospice night team who cover the area.

My father has recently passed away after a long protracted period of illness. Aware the cancer diagnosis was a terminal condition we very much wanted to care for him at home. In the last stages of his illness I was fortunate to get time off work to help mum with the hands on caring. We would have really struggled to have carried out his wishes of dying at home without the superb input from the district nurse team based in Dorking.

Right from the outset the support mum received from Janice, Shirley and the team was caring and efficient. Particularly in the way they set up the services, financial support and equipment likely to be needed as the illness progressed. Mostly they got the level of input just right, with mum knowing she could pickup the phone anytime in the early stages through to the daily input we received in last few days. It gave us great comfort to see how they cared for my father with such compassion when he lost the ability to communicate his own needs.

We would also like to mention the wonderful hospice night staff, who we called during dad’s last night. They were extremely proficient, friendly and caring. Once they walked through the door I felt immense relief knowing dad was in good hands. This is really an essential service if people are going to have the choice to die at home and I hope that the investment in this valuable asset will continue.