Oban Hospice - Angus’ story

Angus was referred to Oban Hospice Community Services via the cardiac nurse specialist in November 2014.

He had a diagnosis of end stage heart failure and lung failure. He was struggling with isolation. We applied to the life changes trust and secured £1,000 for Angus to pay for taxi fares to travel to see his wife, who had dementia, weekly. What a difference this made to Angus as he said he was keeping to his marriage vows of being able to, as much as possible, care for his wife.

We arranged for volunteers to pick Angus up and take him to the weekly lunch club and here he made new friends and met people he knew from his past. Volunteers took him to the Gaelic singing group and he made friends with these volunteers.

One of the many wonderful things about Oban Hospice Community Services volunteers is they are helping because of their willingness to help people.

BBC Alba were filming for Oban Hospice and came along to interview Angus, speaking in Gaelic. Angus loved talking in Gaelic and thought himself very important to be on TV, telling anyone who would listen to tune in.

Volunteer Lisa visited Angus at home weekly, giving emotional support and talked about everything and anything - Angus’ past, present and worries about his failing health and what his wishes for his death were. His wife’s dementia was progressing and when Angus visited and she didn’t know who he was this was distressing for him. Lisa visited him every week after these visits so he could talk through these feelings. Angus looked forward to Lisa’s visits very much and appreciated the opportunity to be able to share meaningful time. We held a party for him at the Carers’ Centre for his 79th birthday and Angus knew this would be his last.

Further ways in which we supported Angus were getting help with his finances from the Welfare Rights Officer, ensuring he got a £ 3,000 refund on overpayments. In the summer we also gave him the loan of a mobility scooter which had been donated to the Carers Centre. This enabled him to go to Tesco and he was able to do his own shopping, something he had not been able to do in a while. For a short time it gave him back his independence.

Angus’ health was deteriorating and after a number of falls and being in and out of hospital, he was moved to Lynn of Lorne care home. We helped with his move and organised the uplift of occupational therapy equipment, telecare enabling others to access his home. We supported him emotionally through this difficult transition into a care home and visited him weekly to help him settle in. Less than a month after his move to Lynn of Lorne Angus passed away. We supported Angus for less than a year in the last months of his life, giving all the emotional, practical and social support that he needed and he was grateful for the intervention from Oban Hospice community services, as were his family.