Marie Curie expands hospital companion service into Yeovil Hospital

Marie Curie, the UK’s leading end of life charity, is set to expand its hospital companion service into Yeovil Hospital.

The service, which launches this month, will provide a dedicated team of volunteers – Marie Curie Hospital Companions – who offer support and a reassuring presence to inpatients at Yeovil Hospital, who are living with an illness they’re likely to die from.

Hospital companions support people who are dying, including those with a terminal illness, providing emotional and practical support and being a reassuring presence. Volunteers are asked to provide support for approximately three hours per week.

Across the South West, Marie Curie Hospital Companions have supported 782 people and their families over the past year, and this new service will now see every hospital in Somerset covered by hospital companions, with the first patient at Yeovil due to be seen towards the end of May.

Current hospital companion volunteers describe the role as “deeply meaningful” and “an honour” as they are able to offer comfort and emotional support to people during some of the most vulnerable moments of their life.

Dr Sioned Evans, our of our palliative care consultants, says: “As a hospital palliative care team, we work closely with the Marie Curie volunteers in Musgrove Park Hospital, and we have witnessed first-hand the powerful impact that the quiet companion, and the reassuring presence, can have on patients in the last hours and days of their lives.”

Sam Pearce, volunteer services officer, who was recently nominated for Positive Community Support Woman at the BCP (Bournemouth Christchurch Poole) International Women’s Day awards for her work with Community Companions in Bournemouth, will support the hospital companions at Yeovil.

She says: “Nearing the end of life is a scary and overwhelming experience, for both the individual and their loved ones.

“Our wonderful Marie Curie Hospital Companions can be a reassuring presence while providing emotional and practical support as well as signposting to bereavement and end of life support services.

“Our hospital companions are often a great comfort to families, and can provide extra support and for their loved ones.

“Volunteering as a Marie Curie Hospital Companion is a unique and rewarding opportunity to make a real difference to people at the end of their lives, especially those from diverse and minoritised communities.  All volunteers will receive comprehensive training and support to equip them with the skills and knowledge needed to provide high-quality support with confidence. “

Marie Curie supports people with any illness they are likely to die from including Alzheimer’s (and other forms of dementia), heart, liver, kidney and lung disease, motor neurone disease, Parkinson’s, and advanced cancer.

The charity provides expert care and support in people’s homes, in its hospices and over the phone via its free Information & Support helpline which is there for anyone who is affected by dying, death and bereavement.

If you're interested in volunteering as a Marie Curie Hospital Companion, take a look at the latest opportunities at Marie Curie - Volunteers Careers or contact southcompanions@mariecurie.org.uk