Happy 1st birthday to Weldmar at Home: ‘You lifted our spirits at such a difficult time’
19th July 2022
Our Weldmar at Home service marks its first anniversary today.
The launch of the new resource in July 2021 was described at the time as ‘one of the most exciting expansions to our service in some time’, and was made possible by a successful appeal earlier in the year.
With an increasing number of people choosing to die in the comfortable and familiar surroundings of their own home, Weldmar at Home was set up to provide hands on care in the home for the very first time – just as we always have done at our Inpatient Unit – offering advice, guidance and support to not only the patient, but their loved ones too.
A team of specially trained Health Care Assistants cover the west, south, and north of Dorset, and the service has been especially helpful in providing specialist care in more rural parts of the county.
In the first year of Weldmar at Home...
294
patients have been cared for
9,386
hours of care were provided
4,522
home visits were made
"Weldmar at Home, we can’t thank you enough, beautiful team, for the weeks of wonderful care you gave. He wrote daily in his diary (until the day before he died) about the how gentle and kind you all were. Thanks to you he died at home - his strongest wish. We simply couldn’t have done it without you. We will never forget any of you."
Mary Brice is Weldmar at Home Lead, and is full of praise for her team. “They have been amazing because they came into what was a brand new service, and have been so adaptable to so many things that have changed over the past year. What they’ve never lost sight of is the objective of providing a high standard of care. They consistently make feel people feel comfortable.”
“The feedback that we’ve had tells us we’re doing something right, the fact that families remember us when they’ve lost their loved one and they think of us at that time means a massive amount. That’s also testament to the fact that the team members are able to support the families as well, and that really shows in some of the feedback that we’ve had.
Here’s what members of the Weldmar at Home team have said about their experiences during the first year of the service:
It is expected that demand will continue to rise. The second six month period for Weldmar at Home saw a 36% increase in the number of hours of care provided, compared to the first six months, and as well as providing the service to existing patients cared for by the charity, hospital patients have been referred to Weldmar at Home when a fast-track package of care needs to be implemented for those who want to go home to die.
Mary says, “There will always more people needing care in their own home, and we have the challenge of the rural geographical area that we work in. As the service grows it’s important for us to keep that sense of ‘team’ that we already have. They very much support each other and look after each other, so going forward we want to maintain that really high standard, to not lose sight of what we’re here to do, and also to maintain the closeness of the team, with the same common objective.”
"Thank you so much for the wonderful support you gave to my husband and to myself and my family in his final days. It meant he could have a peaceful end at home surrounded by his family. The Weldmar at Home team are wonderful and amazing and full of joy and laughter which uplifted our spirits at such a difficult time. I know he loved them all, even though he didn’t always comply with requests and promises not to escape from bed. Many, many thanks again to your wonderful team."
Would you like to join the Weldmar at Home team?
As an established and growing service in Dorset, Weldmar at Home is looking for more Health Care Assistants. If you are passionate about providing high quality care, we would love to hear from you. We can offer a permanent contract, ongoing professional development is encouraged, and you’ll be supported by an established and experienced team of professionals within Weldmar Hospicecare.
