‘It is difficult to put into words what a difference these weddings make’ – Meet the Peterborough hospital staff who are helping terminally ill patients to marry

Planning a dream wedding is, for most couples, something that takes many months of preparation.

With flowers, decorations, photography and, of course, the dress to sort out, it can often feel like there isn’t enough time to get everything done.

For some people however, time is even more precious.

This is something that caring North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust staff like Natasha Steels-Webb are acutely aware of.

Moved by seeing end-of-life patients worrying about how, or if, they would be able to enjoy their big day, Natasha and her colleagues decided to implement plans that would help husbands- and brides-to-be fulfil their wedding day dreams in hospital.

Critical Outreach Nurse Practitioner Natasha said that, after seeing first-hand how helping to grant patients’ wishes can have a positive impact, she and her team came up with the idea of a portable ‘Wedding Box’.

“Myself and a colleague decided to create the wedding box after a patient we were caring for had become very unwell and it was clear she was not going to recover,” she said.

“She had been with her current partner for many years, but they just hadn't got around to getting married - and this was something they both wanted.”

Natasha remembered how that moment inspired them.

“Although we were able to make that happen, with help from all the relevant teams, we felt we could do something to make future weddings even more special with decorative items, artificial flowers and balloons on standby for such an event.”

Following a social media appeal for wedding items, the team now has two Wedding Boxes – which can be used at short notice – at Peterborough City Hospital and Hinchingbrooke Hospital in Huntingdon.

Looking to increase their provisions further, Natasha and her colleagues are appealing for cake-makers, photographers and any other wedding-related businesses who would be willing to help at short notice to get onboard by emailing [email protected].

The additional support would, Natasha says, be invaluable:

“It is difficult to put into words what a difference these weddings make,” she said; “but you can see the appreciation in the eyes of the patient, and their loved ones, that you have been able to make a difference.”