HAVING only lived in the area for a couple of years, Janet Curl said that attending North Devon Hospice’s outreach centre in Holsworthy really helped her feel part of a ‘community’.

As part of Dying Matters Week, the hospice has been hearing from people across the area who are affected by a life-limiting illness, but are being supported to live well by the hospice.

Janet said the hospice’s The Long House outreach centre, which she first attended shortly after it opened in 2015, has been ‘a God send’.

She said: “I’ve met so many lovely people and we really are a proper little community, because we’re all going through the same thing, albeit at different stages of the journey. We can say anything to each other, because it is a safe space.”

Janet has been living with Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma for several years, and moved from Sussex to Holsworthy six years ago to be closer to her son.

Since North Devon Hospice built The Long House, to provide care closer to home for the surrounding community, Janet has attended regular sessions that support her through her journey.

She said: “The Long House is a beautiful space. As soon as you walk in you feel at peace and very relaxed. It’s a sanctuary.”

One of Janet’s favourite sessions are the regular pamper days, where patients and carers can come for some well-deserved ‘TLC’, including manicures and massages. This is another example of how the hospice supports people with a life-limiting illness, knowing that it is not the days in our life, but the life in our days that really matters.

Janet added: “People have an idea about what hospices are like. They think about people in their last days and that it might be very sombre, but it’s nothing like that.

“This place is full of life and laughter. The hospice helps us live life to the full. We have a lot of giggles here, which is what the hospice is all about.”

Mandy Bateman is North Devon Hospice’s complementary therapy team leader and runs the pamper sessions at The Long House.

She said hospice care is all about treating people as individuals and looking after the whole person, not just their symptoms. She said: “When someone is faced with a life-limiting illness, their emotional and physical wellbeing are intrinsically linked.

“So it’s important to provide as much support as possible to help patients live well with their illness. The pamper days are a great example, because you can see a change in people from the beginning of the day to the end. They are so much more relaxed, and you just know this will make a difference to their overall wellbeing. It is not what people initially imagine when they think about hospice care, but this is what modern hospice care looks like.”