09/10/2026
Say hello to Nurse Vicci. 👋 She’s one of our wonderful nurses working in a local GP surgery. She identifies people in the community with life-long or terminal conditions who haven’t been seen by palliative care specialists before. Read more about what a shift is like for Nurse Vicci 👇
“Some people immediately hear Marie Curie and don't want to know. They think it's cancer and I reassure that Marie Curie is not just cancer support.
“I work with Advance Care Planning or future planning in palliative care, everything to do with what you want out of your future years. It doesn't necessarily mean terminal or end of life, I’m going beyond that and looking at increasing quality of life in the last years.
“I help verbalise and document people’s choices – do you want to go to hospital? Do you not want to go to hospital? Or something in between. Completing Respect forms, with detailed information, regarding where people want to be cared for, what treatments they do and don't want, and including family where required in conversations.
“Once people have met me, and I describe exactly what it is that I do, most people are happy to do some kind of planning. They don't necessarily want to do everything immediately, but it certainly starts a conversation, raises some questions and prompts them to consider what might be important to them now and at the end of their life.
“The biggest thing I've probably encountered is that most people do have an idea about what they want – about their funeral plan, about their resuscitation wishes, what they want…it’s just no one's ever asked them before.
“That's why it's important. Without this service, many of the patients I've supported might not be identified until they are seriously ill in A&E.”
This Hospice Care Week, we’re highlighting how hospice care reaches far beyond hospice buildings. Nurses like Vicci are out in their communities, helping people access vital palliative and end of life care when and where they need it most. Thank you Nurse Vicci for sharing your story and for everything you do to care for people living with terminal and life-limiting illnesses. 💛
not just cancer support.
“I work with Advance Care Planning or future planning in palliative care, everything to do with what you want out of your future years. It doesn't necessarily mean terminal or end of life, I’m going beyond that and looking at increasing quality of life in the last years.
“I help verbalise and document people’s choices – do you want to go to hospital? Do you not want to go to hospital? Or something in between. Completing Respect forms, with detailed information, regarding where people want to be cared for, what treatments they do and don't want, and including family where required in conversations.
“Once people have met me, and I describe exactly what it is that I do, most people are happy to do some kind of planning. They don't necessarily want to do everything immediately, but it certainly starts a conversation, raises some questions and prompts them to consider what might be important to them now and at the end of their life.
“The biggest thing I've probably encountered is that most people do have an idea about what they want – about their funeral plan, about their resuscitation wishes, what they want…it’s just no one's ever asked them before.
“That's why it's important. Without this service, many of the patients I've supported might not be identified until they are seriously ill in A&E.”
This Hospice Care Week, we’re highlighting how hospice care reaches far beyond hospice buildings. Nurses like Vicci are out in their communities, helping people access vital palliative and end of life care when and where they need it most. Thank you Nurse Vicci for sharing your story and for everything you do to care for people living with terminal and life-limiting illnesses. 💛
