'Everyone should have chance to die at home'

A man whose terminally ill wife passed away after being cared for by hospice nurses at home believes families should be able to choose where their loved ones die.

David Best, from Oxfordshire, has urged the government to invest more in palliative care after the death of his wife Sarah in 2022.

Speaking before MPs debate proposals to give terminally ill people in England and Wales the right to choose to end their life, David said he was not against assisted dying but wanted to see hospices given more money so more people had the option to be cared for at home.

The health secretary Wes Streeting has repeatedly said the palliative care system was not "where it needs to be to give people a real choice".

David said: "She [Sarah] had no wish to end her life prematurely, she didn't have long to live anyway.

"What I do very strongly believe is everybody should have the choice and be able to die at home if that is their wish."

Sarah was told she had advanced bowel cancer during a routine screening appointment in September 2021.

Initially she was given chemotherapy to try to shrink the tumour but she suffered several complications and had to be admitted to the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford.

In March 2022, Sarah was given just weeks left to live after consultants said there was nothing more they could do.

David brought her home to their village of Barford St John and converted the dining room into a bedroom so that she would be more comfortable.

District nurses called in once a day and administered morphine via a syringe driver to relieve her pain.

All four of the couple's children came home to help care for Sarah during the last month of her life and were there by her bedside when she passed away a day after her 63rd birthday in May 2022.

Sarah was looked after by Lawrence Nurses, a small local charity which only receives 3% of its funding from the government.

She could have gone to Katharine House hospice in Banbury but opted to stay at home and be supported by the charity after her GP recommended them.

Lawrence Nurses covers five GP surgeries around Chipping Norton providing qualified nurses that can offer respite care, as well as round-the-clock support at home towards the end of a person's life.

It says it is the only provider in the county which is able to provide this level of service.

"The hospital try to make you comfortable but it's much nicer being at home," David said.

"It was very dignified, it was very intimate....because we were all here at home where all the children had grown up and we have lots of happy memories, the support from the NHS and charity was second to none."

It costs more than £1.4bn each year to run hospice services in England, only a third comes from government funding, the rest has to be obtained through donations.

Lawrence Nurses says it wants to expand but only receives £21,000 from the government and needs to raise more than £500,000 next year just to maintain its services.

David is now planning to run his first marathon next year at the age of 70 to help fundraise for the charity and ensure other families get the support they need.

"Knowing that Sarah didn't have much time left, it was just such a wonderful relief to have these very caring nurses and compassionate nurses to help us look after Sarah," he added.

A Department for Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “We want everyone to have access to high-quality end of life care and are aware of the financial pressures facing the hospice sector.

“We are determined to shift more healthcare into the community and ensure patients and their families receive high-quality, personalised care in the most appropriate setting. Hospices will have a big role to play in that shift.”

MPs are scheduled to debate and vote on the assisted dying bill on Friday.

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