One Family’s story; Care at The Fairhaven Suite
03 AprThe Fairhaven Suite, which opened last summer, is a specialist end of life care suite at St Faith’s in Cheltenham. It gives privacy, peace and comfort for adults in their final days, weeks or months. A key part of its care is the support, space and facilities it offers to families and friends, enabling them to spend quality time with their loved ones.
Joan was the first person to be cared for in The Fairhaven Suite and, in her memory, her family donated one of her beautiful hand stitched quilts. Earlier in the spring her family revisited to see the quilt, which is now framed and on display, and they shared their experiences with us.
Joan’s daughter Paula explains; “We stumbled across here [The Fairhaven Suite]. We just didn’t know what to do. Mum was getting poorlier and poorlier and hospital wasn’t the right place at all. I googled at 3 in the morning, and sent an email enquiry, as we live round the corner, and we came and had a look.”
“It has a really nice feel and it was exactly what we wanted. We knew mum was on end of life so the whole set up is so good here. It was peaceful and you have enough privacy in the room but then the nursing staff were always on hand.”
“Mum was here two weeks; it felt like a long time as we literally moved in. They really kindly put beds up in the room, and a lovely reclining chair. The rooms were so nice as they were so spacious and airy.”
Joan’s granddaughter Alice also stayed as much as possible; “I felt at home here as well. Although it was a tough time it was a lovely place to be. It is really homely”
Paula continues “When you are in that situation it makes a big difference that it’s not like a hospital room but it had the fantastic bed and all the care of a hospital but it didn’t feel like a hospital. “We were able to treat it as our own, make your own teas/coffees. The fridge stocked with food was wonderful.” Paula’s husband Rob adds, “It was nice and easy to go and make drinks – it gave you five minutes to reset.”
“We met another family and we always caught up in the kitchen – we knew we were going through a similar thing. We used the lounge to make phone calls, to relatives and making arrangements. My mum had a strong faith so Claire the vicar could come as well as her church friends – there were no time restrictions.”
Joan’s quilt is a beautiful addition to The Fairhaven Suite, as Paula explained “Mum was quite meticulous, if she wasn’t satisfied she would unpick it. My mum and dad lived in America, that’s when she got into quilting. She came back and joined some quilting groups including Winchcombe. She loved it all. It was her thing.”