Primrose Hospice’s Family Support Centre offers emotional support to adults, patients, carers and loved ones through the Family Support Team. Trained volunteers make up the Adult Family Support Team. The team is supervised at Primrose by Heather – our Head of Family Support. The volunteers see people in their own homes, at the Coppice Centre or via the telephone.

The Family Support Team offers an empathetic ear to support people on their journey through the different stages of a life-limiting illnesses.

Our service can work with individuals or support the family together. Our Family Support Service can support families through this extremely difficult time and we will try to ensure we provide a service which meets each family’s individual needs.

The following questions often worry hospice patients and families:

• What happens if I cannot cope at home?
• What do we say to the children?
• How can I talk to those close to me?
• How will we cope financially?

There are occasions when the family needs are more complex. Living with serious illness can affect every aspect of peoples’ lives. These stresses and strains can become difficult to cope with and talking to a social worker, either individually or with other family members, can often help with this.

Discussing all the available options can also help with any decisions that need to be made. The social worker can also assist by liaising with other agencies and services and advocating on behalf of the family.

Adult Bereavement Groups – Group support can be very helpful and within Family Support we have a variety of regular groups. The main purpose of these groups is to provide a safe environment for discussion and mutual support with others who have had similar experiences. These groups may be discussed with you and offered if they are considered to be beneficial.

For more information on Family Support Services contact the Family Support Team Administrator:

T: 01527 889799

E: primrosehospice.familysupportreferrals@nhs.net

We would love to hear your thoughts about your experience at Primrose Hospice, so we can improve services.

Please take a few minutes to complete our survey here.

Our Family Support Service is supported by the TNL Community fund: