Empathy of staff made all the difference in young woman’s final days

At East Ayrshire Health and Social Care Partnership, we believe in treating people as individuals, listening to and respecting their wishes and taking the time to get things right for them when it matters most.

We received the following story from Charge Nurse, Jennifer Welsh, involving a young mother admitted to the Kilmarnock District Nursing Service with a diagnosis of terminal cancer. Although heartbreakingly sad, this young woman’s story is a testament to the compassion and care shown by our community nurses and a shining example of everything we stand for at EAHSCP.

“In the summer of 2021 we had a 31-year-old female admitted to our caseload with a terminal diagnosis of cervical cancer. The patient had 4 young children, 2 under 5, and a partner whom she was planning to marry the same year. 

Initially she was reluctant to engage with the district nursing service, which we later found out was mostly due to being afraid, wanting to remain as independent as she possibly could and to try and maintain a sense of normality for herself and her children. The DN team respected this and proceeded to slowly build up a relationship with her. This slow process gained the team her trust and she felt more able to engage with them as a result.

Through informal chats around anticipatory care planning, it was established that her wishes were to remain at home as much as possible and the DN team reassured her that we would strive to facilitate this in any way we could. 

Sadly, her condition deteriorated fairly rapidly, and she was commenced on a medication administration device for symptom control as she was reaching end of life. This meant the team were visiting daily, which quickly enhanced our relationship and meant we were able to build up a good rapport. She felt more at ease and seemed more able to express her worries and concerns. Providing her with the opportunity to talk while we listened and empathised and tried to manage the situation helped build trust and promoted patient-centred care.

Wedding day

Arrangements were made for her wedding day, and this mattered to the patient more than anything. The team discussed regularly how we would best manage this.

Her wedding was a Saturday, and fortunately myself and another staff member were on duty. The patient was very keen to have the equipment removed for the ceremony, although we were concerned how her symptoms would be not having this on for a period of time. We came up with a plan to facilitate her wishes, which she agreed.

We visited on the morning of her wedding to administer prescribed medication by injection, offering the best symptom control prior to leaving the house for the wedding. We then replenished the equipment and carried this in our car, with a plan to attend the ceremony afterwards and reattach this to the patient.

Despite it being a very busy weekend, with several palliative patients requiring visits amongst the other planned and unplanned visits, we met at the venue where the ceremony had taken place and reattached the equipment. The patient was then able to stay a while longer and celebrate her special day with friends and family. The team felt very privileged to care for her and meet her wishes. 

Helping with what matters most

She was admitted to the Ayrshire Hospice for her final few days of life, as she did not want to die in the family home. Instead, she passed away very peacefully in her husband’s arms.

We reflected on this episode of care as a team and felt proud to have been able to recognise and facilitate what really mattered to this patient. It was a very emotional but beautiful day and the patient and her family were very grateful for our care and support at such a sad and difficult time.

As nurses it has highlighted how important and rewarding it is to achieve a patient’s wishes, especially at the end of life.”

Well done to everyone in Kilmarnock District Nursing Service for perfectly demonstrating what it means to put the person first, helping to make this young woman’s last experiences of life exactly as she wanted them.