New Axminster Hospice at Home service launched to support patients and families with compassionate end-of-life care
A new Hospice at Home service has officially launched in Axminster, giving people with a life-limiting illness greater choice to receive specialist end-of-life care in the comfort of their own homes, surrounded by the people who matter most to them. The service, launched at Axminster Guildhall on Thursday 4 June, has been developed through a partnership between Axminster Hospital League of Friends and the Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust. It will support patients registered with Axminster Medical Practice who have been diagnosed with a life-limiting illness of 12 months or less.
The Trustees of Axminster Hospital League of Friends welcomed around 80 people to Axminster Guildhall to hear speakers including the Chair of the League, Steve Holt who said:
"The implementation of a comprehensive ‘at-home’ end of life service is something that the League has been striving for across many years. We have been working alongside the Royal Devon to develop an enhanced, integrated service that suits the needs of the people of Axminster, the surrounding villages, the RDUH and the League. With the generosity of the people of Axminster and the dedicated work of Axminster Hospital League of Friends, three nurses with very high levels of experience and training have been appointed."
Richard Anderson, Operations Manager for Proactive and Intermediate Care (East), Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust said:
"Axminster Hospice at Home is offering enhanced end of life services integrated with, and based with, the Community Nursing team. It is hoped that the service will continue to grow so that it is a fully functioning 24/7 service, working alongside the community teams and working in partnership with colleagues in the acute hospital and the palliative care in-patient team in Exeter. The focus will be on building a gold standard service, providing comfort, dignity, and supporting families in the preferred place of death—usually at home.”
The audience were introduced to the nurses, Hayley Allen, Michaela Board and Helen Smart. Their role is to take care of physical pain control and any other medical or psychological issue. They are experts in all aspects of the palliative process. The family can then be family – they hold space for the person; they are there to love and comfort whilst the nurse takes care of and co-ordinates any clinical issues.
One family already supported by the service commented: “Within an hour of contacting the Hospice at Home team, they were on board. They got in touch with consultants, doctors and the oncology team for information. We now have the most wonderful help from many departments, and a nurse is coming in most days. We don’t know how long we have together, but we know the Hospice at Home nurses are there for us both.”
The Mayor of Axminster, Jack Price, commented: “It was a pleasure to attend such a wonderful event, bringing together so many amazing people. The incredible team behind it should be immensely proud of the outstanding work they are delivering within our community.”
Axminster Hospice At Home
At its 2023 AGM, Axminster Hospital League of Friends launched its “Big Goal” to raise sufficient funds to be able to introduce a new at home end of life service. Similar proven services exist in Sidmouth and Seaton and, at the time, Axminster’s funds would not allow them to invest in recruiting nurses without the longer-term future being robust.
In-depth discussions with Richard Anderson, Community Services Manager from the Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust were positive and at the League of Friends annual meeting in May 2025 it was announced that the proposal was progressing towards implementation.
Richard and his team have worked diligently to tailor an initial service that will offer palliative care for any patient registered with Axminster Medical Practice that has been diagnosed with 12 months or less to live. The service will start by covering the hours of 8am – 8pm, with dedicated palliative nurses, funded by the Axminster Hospital League of Friends, supported by the community nursing team.
With this positive news, The League plans to open discussions with other local charities to investigate the prospects for expanding the support for the wider family to include bereavement counselling among other possibilities.
The League wishes to thank everyone who has supported them over the years and especially this last year which has enabled them to release this good news.
Whilst this will be the key focus for The League during its development, it will continue to support the hospital and the wider community with new equipment and services as requested and needed.
For more information please contact Helen Arnold, Manager on admin@axmlof.com or 07951 679993