frailty-patient-roger-smiling-on-the-inpatient-unit

Roger's story

frailty-patient-roger-russell-smiles-on-inpatient-unit

“Last week I was totally uncertain about what tomorrow was going to bring and I was scared. A week later I feel like a totally different person and I’m looking forward to life.”

Three weeks ago, Roger was admitted to hospital with symptoms of frailty. He had lost the use of his legs and wasn’t coping at home. It was there that he was introduced to our Frailty In-Reach Nurse, Jenny, and was transferred to the Hospice two days later.


“I went to hospital because I had nowhere else to go and I didn’t know what was wrong with me. I laid in the hospital bed for three weeks, not really sleeping, eating or moving around and I was scared about where things were going.


“Everything changed the moment I met Jenny. She was so kind, knowledgeable and gave me and my family confidence that being transferred to the Hospice was the best thing for me. I wasn’t wrong. On my first day here, I was supported to get out of bed, to have a hot shower, a freshly cooked meal and I spent time with the incredible team in the Inpatient Unit and Rehab and Wellbeing team to discuss achievable next steps. Within two days I was back on my feet and supported to walk around the beautiful hospice gardens. It’s incredible.


“They have given me my independence back.”


Our Rehab and Wellbeing team visited Roger’s home yesterday, assessing his living space with him to ensure he was able to remain independent in his own environment. Next week, Roger will go home and will continue to be supported by the Hospice’s Rehab and Wellbeing and Community Teams.


We understand that integrating back into the community can be tricky when you’re living with symptoms of frailty. To breakdown barriers in access to our services, we have started a minibus service which Roger has already booked onto to take him to and from one of our 11 weekly Wellbeing Hubs.


We caught up with Roger 10 days after he settled back at home and had been to his first Hitchin Wellbeing Hub.