Hundreds helped by end of life support volunteers

Nearly 1,000 NHS patients and their families have been supported by a hospital's end-of-life volunteer service in its first year.

A Friend In Need provides companionship to patients at the University Hospitals Sussex NHS Trust in their final days and hours.

Through the project, a partnership between the trust, the Friends of Brighton & Hove Hospitals, and the Anne Robson Trust, volunteers have supported 383 patients and 611 family members through nearly 900 bedside visits.

Volunteer Jenny Barnes said: "It's about knowing they have mattered, do matter, and will always matter. The life and love go on."

Andy Kelly, from Goring-by-Sea, said in May 2025 his elderly mother was rushed into the Royal Sussex County Hospital as a result of a sudden heart attack.

"This came as a complete shock to me, my wife and sister, and as you can imagine was a very stressful and distressing time for all of us," he said.

But the care provided throughout, he said, including up to the death of his mother a few days later, "could not have been any better and made a very difficult time that little bit easier".

Thanking the team for their care, he said: "They really are all heroes, and we thank them from the bottom of our hearts."

In the UK, around one in two people die in a hospital setting, with research suggesting that up to 92% of those with a terminal illness experience loneliness, according to the organisation.

"We only have one chance to get it right at the end of someone's life," consultant in palliative medicine Professor Ollie Minton said.

"Our volunteers provide invaluable companionship when it's needed most.

"This is about dignity, compassion, and being there at the most important time."

The success of the Brighton model has led the palliative care team to explore introducing A Friend In Need to the trust's other hospitals, beginning with the Princess Royal in Haywards Heath.

Chris Rendel, chair of the Friends of Brighton & Hove Hospitals, said: "Patients and families tell us how much this companionship means to them.

"That is the only encouragement we need to do even more"

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