Paul Sartori Hospice at Home were successful in obtaining funding during 2020 for a new project to improve mouth care, often referred to as oral health care for end-of-life patients living in Pembrokeshire. Grants of £2,000 and £500 were awarded from The Hospital Saturday Fund and The HDH Wills 1965 Charitable Trust respectively to help fund the delivery of this new innovative project.
The grants, supported the purchase of 400 Oral Health Care Packs. These contain recommended mouthcare products to benefit and maintain a clean, moist and comfortable mouth for end-of-life patients. Additionally, 50 more products were kindly donated by the supplier, Oral Care Innovations Limited. Furthermore, the project was supported by Public Health Wales and Hywel Dda University Health Board who assisted with the sourcing of items and the implementation of the project at Paul Sartori Hospice at Home. The Paul Sartori Community Nurses have since received training from the Oral Health Team at Hywel Dda University Health Board. This has been of great benefit to ensure that the community team at Paul Sartori Hospice at Home not only recognise any issues with the patient’s mouth and oral health, but are also able to maintain good oral health. This in turn ensures a consistent approach within the community.
The importance of oral health care for end-of-life patients cannot be overlooked. This project has enabled Paul Sartori Hospice at Home to be at the forefront of this and further enhance the service they provide in Pembrokeshire. Improving mouth care is just as important as other areas of the body and it is hoped that this innovative project will support with this.
“It is encouraging to see organisations such as the Paul Satori Foundation taking the lead to ensure mouthcare is provided at the right time, in the right place, and by the right people. Good mouthcare is fundamental for dignity and comfort when people become progressively unwell. They will need assistance to ensure the mouth is kept scrupulously clean. This is an important aspect of end of life care and is something that family members can also support with if they wish,” said Rosalyn Davies, Senior Improvement Manager, Public Health Wales.
Pat Coombs, the Clinical Coordinator and Equipment Facilitator at Paul Sartori Hospice at Home, who is coordinating the delivery of this project is delighted to have received help for this innovative project.
“We are very proud to be leaders of this important service within our county and are grateful to have had this opportunity. It goes without saying that good oral health care has a knock effect on the patient’s overall health”, said Pat Coombs.
“We are delighted, and very grateful to both funders for awarding these grants; to the supplier for donating additional products and to Rosalyn and her team for assisting with the implementation. Without this support, it would not have been possible to have developed this project,” said Judith Williams, Grants Coordinator at Paul Sartori Hospice at Home.
Paul Sartori Hospice at Home provides a wide range of other services to people living in the final stages of a life limiting illness, including: home nursing care, 24-hour support, standby service, complementary therapy, bereavement and counselling support, under 18s anticipatory and bereavement support, physiotherapy, advance care planning and training.
These services, provided by the Paul Sartori Hospice at Home Service, enable people in the later stages of any life limiting illness to be cared for and to die at home with dignity, independence, pain free and surrounded by those they hold most dear if that is their wish.
Services are available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, thanks to the kind generosity of the Pembrokeshire Community. Further information on the charity and its services can be obtained by visiting their website www.paulsartori.org or by phoning 01437 763223
Read all our news here: www.paulsartori.org/news-feed/