Blythe House Hospice provides a range of free, tailored care and support to patients and their families affected by cancer and other life-limiting illnesses across the High Peak, Hope Valley, Derbyshire Dales, Chesterfield and North East Derbyshire.
The hospice specializes in providing hospice care at home across North Derbyshire, through 24/7 Hospice at Home and overnight Roaming Car services. The Community Hub located in Chapel-en-le-Frith offers access to nursing care, physical and complementary therapies, adult and children counselling and family support for patients and their loved ones at any stage of their illness.
Blythe House Hospice receives less than 20% of its funding from the government and therefore relies on the generosity of the community through fundraising and supporting its charity shops to raise the vast majority of the money needed to continue providing care across North Derbyshire.
Why your donations and support help change lives at Blythe House Hospice...
Tyrone and his beloved wife Barbara were supported by Blythe House Hospice following Barbara's heartbreaking diagnosis of ovarian cancer in 2019, through to her untimely death in September 2023.
Tyrone explained: 'Barbara first realised there might be something wrong when she experienced bleeding; abnormal for a woman of her age. She went to her GP who referred her for a scan, and her cancer diagnosis was confirmed. Barbara's GP then suggested we contact Blythe House Hospice.
As much as we knew we needed support for Barbara, I also knew I needed some help as her carer. I found the carers support group at Blythe House Hospice enormously helpful. Being amongst a group of people in the same or similar situations was very reassuring and I felt a huge relief about not having to put on a brave face.
Angela and Miriam, the hospice's physical therapy team, visited us at home and we were able to arrange for a stairlift to be fitted and for different equipment to support Barbara including walking sticks and aid for the bathroom.
Barbara wanted to stay at home for as long as possible as her health deteriorated, and it was here that the Hospice at Home service stepped in to support us. At this point I was caring for Barbara 24/7 and so their input was absolutely massive.
Blythe House then supported us from 10pm to 7am, three nights per week. This care meant that I could get a full night's sleep, and could function properly during the day, better able to look after Barbara and tend to her growing needs.
As the end came nearer, Blythe House Hospice's staff advised us what to expect. That left us much better prepared for what was to come and it's exactly what happened. Barbara died peacefully in September 2023. The support from Blythe House Hospice made a 100% difference to our lives during those last two years. We went from managing to live, to living a life that we could enjoy together.
It's rare in life that you can trust someone 100%, especially with a partner who is dying, but I knew I could with the hospice staff. If there is such a thing as angels on this earth, I don't doubt that some of them are working at Blythe House Hospice. That was the strength of the support we received.'
For further information, visit the Blythe House Hospice website:
www.blythehousehospice.org.uk