Just over a year ago the Gazette set out to help hospice nurses by launching a campaign to replace their ageing fleet of vehicles – and within six weeks the target was smashed. ANNA SMITH takes a look at the difference the vehicles have made.

THE 'Hospice at Home' nurses at north Lancashire's St John's Hospice care for terminally-ill patients who have chosen to die at home.

Their work is selfless, generous and takes them right across South Lakeland, north Lancashire and into the Yorkshire Dales and, crucially, makes all the difference to those in their final days who want to be in familiar surroundings.

Yet, until the end of 2013, the team had nothing but a fleet of old, unreliable cars to get them to the homes of those that needed them, and the hospice, to put it simply, did not have the money to replace the ageing vehicles.

Its nurses, instead, learned to expect break downs and mechanical failures anywhere from country lanes to motorways, in snow, torrential rain or thick fog.

"It was dire, it really was," says hospice chief executive, Sue McGraw.

"The nurses do an amazing job and it was stressful for them going out in cars that they couldn't be sure would actually get them where they needed to be."

In September 2013 the Gazette heard about the plight of the team and the 'Driving Hospice Care' campaign was born to raise £36,000 for a pair of brand new 4x4s.

Thanks to generous local people, donations began to flood in within hours of the campaign hitting the news stands, with people giving amounts ranging from £5 to a staggering £20,000.

A pair of Kia Sportages were bought, before Gift Aid enabled the team to buy a Kia Rio - and now the nurses cannot speak highly enough of those who dipped into their pockets to help them.

"I can't even begin to explain the difference the cars have made to us and to our patients," says nurse, Anna Conlan.

"They have made life so much easier for the team.

"The other week I had to go out to someone on a farm and I couldn't have done that in the old cars. I wouldn't have got through the farm gates and cattle grids!"

The new cars, almost a year to the day after being delivered to the nurses, have already racked up around 30,000 miles between them.

Nurses say they feel safer in the cars. They no longer worry whether they will make it from A to B. They don't fear having to get out and push a car which has conked out in the middle of nowhere.

They also save money and time, and are able to help more people as a result, because they no longer have to take circuitous routes to avoid motorways - a hotspot of incidents with the old cars - and don't have to wait around for the windows to de-mist or de-ice in bad weather.

Because the cars purr along, they are able to make phone calls on the road to other health professionals, meaning time is saved back at the office.

The team's work in South Lakeland has increased exponentially because they have been able to take on more patients in the far reaches of their patch, such as Grasmere.

"The cars have allowed us to work much better in South Lakeland," continues Ms McGraw.

"We've seen an increase in the number of visits to patients. Since the Hospice at Home service started we have never been busier.

"We've got the confidence to increase because of the vehicles. There's no thinking: 'What if we don't make it?'"

A side effect of the campaign has been an increase in the number of requests for care from patients in South Lakeland, where the profile of the hospice has been raised.

The team- 12-strong when the cars were bought - has increased in size and there are now an extra four members of staff who work as overnight 'sitters' for patients.

Another effect the cars have had is surprising: the administration staff at the hospice now have time to deal with other matters thanks to a massive reduction in work relating to car repairs.

"We can get those people doing other things now which makes us far more efficient overall," laughs Ms McGraw.

"Administration time spent dealing with invoices from the mechanic, for example, took up time.

"The cars' running costs are also lower which is an added bonus."

All three cars are used every day, as nurses visit patients to offer anything from pain relief, symptom control, personal care, or even psychological support to support for patients’ families.

"If we could say one thing it's just this: 'We are so grateful to everybody who donated to the campaign," adds Ms Conlan.

"It has made such a difference to us and to the patients."