Daughter's plea for more members to join 'special group' shaping patient services at Peterborough's Sue Ryder

Laura Beer and Sid Harbour are sharing their stories in the hope of encouraging more people to join a special group helping to shape services at their local Sue Ryder hospice.

The pair are part of Sue Ryder Thorpe Hall Hospice’s Service User Participation Group, which is currently on the look-out for more people to join them, offering feedback on current services and future plans and contributing to the development of new resources for patients and their families.

Laura Beer, 42 from Peterborough, shares her inspiration for joining the Service User Participation Group was how her dad, Graham, was cared for by Sue Ryder Thorpe Hall Hospice at Home team in the final days of his life.

Graham was diagnosed with terminal cancer in May 2021.

‘Such a great support to us’

When he was discharged from hospital Laura and her partner moved in with her parents to help look after him at home.

She said: “We were told we would have months but we actually had dad home for less than two weeks.

"The district nurses got in touch with Sue Ryder and we had help from the Sue Ryder Thorpe Hall Hospice at Home team.

"They were amazing, not just at looking after my dad but also at looking after my mum and me.

“We simply wouldn’t have coped without them. Dad was with one of the Sue Ryder team at the end. They were such a great support to us and I knew I wanted something good to come out of the bad of last year.”

“When I heard about Sue Ryder’s Service User Participation Group I leapt at the chance to get involved. My dad always gave his time to charitable organisations and it means a lot to me to be able to do what he would have wanted done if he was still here.”

‘We try to repay them in little ways’

Also sharing why he decided to join the Service User Participation Group is Sid Harbour, 82 from Peterborough, whose wife Rosemary was cared for at Sue Ryder Thorpe Hall Hospice for the last two weeks of her life.

Since her death in 2018 at the age of 77, Sid has become an avid supporter of the hospice and he joined the Service User Participation Group to offer feedback and opinions on hospice services and facilities.

Sid said: “Rosemary died four years ago. She was in the hospice for the last two weeks and I was able to stay with her. Everybody there is so kind and caring and considerate. I think they have to be special people to do their job.

“I thought I would get involved in the Service User Participation Group because of the outstanding support that my wife and my family received from Sue Ryder. It was absolutely fantastic, first class. We try to repay them in little ways.”

The Thorpe Hall Service User Participation Group meet once a month and have involved in choosing a hot drinks machine for the hospice and providing feedback on resources for patients and families, to supporting the hospice’s plan to improve the cobbled outdoor area.

Laura said: “Cobbles aren’t a good surface so we have been supporting the planning application to change them. I remember being in the back of an ambulance with my dad and even going over the bumps of the white lines on the road made him cry.

Sid adds it may only be a small commitment to attend a meeting once a month, but by doing so your voice can help lead to big improvements for Sue Ryder patients and their families.

For more information on joining the Sue Ryder Thorpe Hall Hospice Service User Participation Group, email [email protected] or call 01733 264361.