Helping hands

WHEN people in the North-East hear the word Butterwick, they probably think of the adult and children’s hospices next to what most of us still call North Tees Hospital, in Stockton.

But there is another Butterwick Hospice, one which has seen a tremendous expansion in services since its doors opened in 1995 and which enjoys a high level of support from the communities it serves.

This “other” hospice, run by the charity founded by Mary Butterwick is the Butterwick Hospice at Bishop Auckland, to give it its official name.

This year, it is celebrating its 15th anniversary and staff and supporters are planning activities and celebrations throughout the year.

Remarkably, since its doors opened, the number of patients it serves has increased more than tenfold, from 60 in 1995 to 650 today. But the Bishop Auckland hospice story goes back even further. In the early Nineties, there was a widespread feeling in south Durham that a hospice was needed to serve the area.

When Dene House, a former residential care home for the elderly run by Durham County Council, came onto the market, supporters got together with the Cancer Relief Macmillan Fund to buy the Woodhouse Lane property. Macmillan launched an £800,000 appeal to renovate the building and, after a long campaign backed by the local community, the hospice was completed in 1995. It was decided then to gift the hospice to the Butterwick charity, and when it opened in June of that year, the building was initially known as the South Durham Hospice.

Over the years, it has increased the range and scope of its free services to residents. Apart from being a day hospice, it is also the base for a palliative care team that helps patients in their own homes, 365 days a year.

Seven years ago, in one of the most innovative developments in the hospice movement, the Bishop Auckland team formed a partnership with the NHS to provide services to patients in more rural parts of County Durham. This has led to the creation of day hospices run by Butterwick staff in Sedgefield Community Hospital, Weardale Community Hospital, in Stanhope, and the Richardson Hospital, in Barnard Castle.

In the early days, nearly all of the hospice’s patients had advanced forms of cancer. Now, about onethird are people with severe neurological conditions such as multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease.

The hospice even offers a popular mobile aromatherapy service for MS patients, which is provided in their own homes.

For reasons which are not understood, Weardale and Teesdale both have above average rates of MS, a progressive, disabling condition which often affects young adults with families, as well as older people.

HOSPICE manager Paula Wood was heavily involved in setting up the outreach day hospices and she is delighted at the impact they have had. “Looking back, we were very ahead of the game. It was a very innovative thing to do and it has really snowballed,”

says Paula. “The numbers using our services are increasing all the time.”

Recently, the hospice has branched out into offering day services to people with heart failure. Unusually, specialist NHS heart failure nurses now regularly hold clinics there, including rehabilitation sessions.

“It is all about trying to maintain people’s independence. Helping people to enjoy life and manage their symptoms,” says Paula. “Pain control is obviously a big thing. We also provide psychological support, counselling and a range of complementary therapies.”

Aromatherapy and massage can help patients with symptoms such as nausea, constipation, pain and anxiety.

“Some of the men are not keen at first but once they try it they usually think it is wonderful,” she says.

The hospice also offers a range of creative therapies.

Most people want to be cared for at home, and when someone becomes too ill to attend the day hospice, the palliative care team can provide 24- hour care in patient’s home.

The majority of patients who use the hospice’s services have life-limiting conditions, but not everybody fits into that mould. A regular visitor in recent months has been Jayne Ingledew, 44, from Auckland Park, near Bishop Auckland.

Jayne is having treatment for breast cancer, but doctors have told her that the outlook is good. She explains: “I worked full-time as a guide leader and had a busy life before the cancer took this away. I was at home watching daytime television and felt isolated.”

A nurse suggested she might try the hospice and it was a revelation.

“Apart from the wonderful staff and volunteers, I have met people who are going through a lot more than me. They are so positive and brave,”

says Jayne. “We also have a lot of laughs. It is hard to believe, but last week in the craft room I was laughing so much I was crying.”

STEPHEN Halliday, 30, who was in property maintenance before MS struck, is full of praise for the services he receives at the day hospices in Sedgefield and Barnard Castle. “I didn’t know what to expect, but the service provided is absolutely brilliant. I have also made some fantastic friends,” says Stephen, who is married with three young sons.

“The physiotherapist is able to do a lot more for me after I have had the aromatherapy on my legs,” he adds.

Butterwick chief executive Graham Leggatt-Chidgey says the communities served by the hospice have been incredibly supportive, but every year it needs £750,000 to keep going. About £300,000 comes from contracts with the NHS, but the rest has to come from donations.

But he adds: “We have had wonderful support and the money we raise locally is spent on caring for people from the local communities we serve.”