I have seen hospice care from both sides

I have seen hospice care, from both sides

Meet Our Staff: Samantha Pollitt – Children’s Care Assistant

When Samantha Pollitt tells people she works in children’s hospice care, she already knows what the response will be.

“They look at me and say, ‘I don’t know how you do it. I’d be crying all day.’”

She smiles because she has heard it hundreds of times.

“The reality is, I’m usually playing games, doing crafts, watching films or helping children make memories with their families. There’s far more laughter than people imagine.”

For the past 12 years, Sam has worked as a Children’s Care Assistant at ellenor, supporting children with complex and life-limiting conditions in their own homes. As part of ellenor’s specialist Children’s Team, she provides hands-on care and practical support, helping children stay at home with their families while giving parents the reassurance that their child is in safe hands.

“Sometimes we go in so Mum can have a coffee with a friend. Sometimes so she can spend time with a sibling. Sometimes she just needs to sleep. A lot of the time parents are exhausted. We’re there to give them a break when they really, really need it.”

It is often the smallest acts that make the biggest difference.

Last summer, those roles were reversed.

Her father, a witty, eccentric man with a lifelong love of Spitfires and a mischievous sense of humour, was someone Sam adored. When he was admitted to ellenor during the final weeks of his life, everything she thought she knew about hospice care changed. For the first time, she wasn’t arriving as a member of staff. She was arriving as a daughter.

“I knew what hospice care looked like professionally,” she says. “I didn’t know what it felt like to need it.”

The difference surprised her.

Until then, she’d only understood hospice care through the experiences of the families she supported. Sitting beside her father, she discovered something else entirely: the relief that comes when responsibility is lifted from your shoulders.

For the first time, she understood what so many of the families she supports feel: the reassurance of knowing someone they love is in safe hands.

Before he came to the hospice, her phone was never far away. Calls came during the working day telling her he had fallen again or needed help. Every ring carried another worry.

“When Dad came to ellenor, I finally stopped worrying about whether he’d be safe. I knew he was being cared for, and I could just be his daughter.”

The change was immediate. Staff cared not only for her father, but for the whole family.

There were no rushed visits or feeling like they were in the way. When his granddaughter Lucy performed with her youth singing group in the hospice garden, he was able to watch – something illness had prevented him from doing before.

It is a memory Sam still finds difficult to talk about.

Then there were the quieter moments of kindness.

“If Dad fancied spaghetti bolognese instead of what was on the menu, they’d get him spaghetti bolognese. If he’d wanted ice cream three times a day, nobody would have questioned it.”

Those details matter because they reveal something much bigger. Hospice care is about far more than managing symptoms. It’s about preserving dignity, respecting people’s wishes and helping families make the most of every moment they have together.

The experience hasn’t changed how Sam does her job.

It has, however, deepened her understanding of the families she supports every day.

“”Nobody ever knows what goes on behind closed doors. Families could have lots of different things going on, as well as caring for a child with a life-limiting condition. It’s made me even more compassionate.”

Over the past 12 years, Sam has cared for countless children and their families. She still remembers the first child she supported who died and the privilege of helping create memories that would last long after he was gone.

“You become part of a family’s life. That’s something I’ll never take for granted.”

Ask her what she wishes people understood about children’s hospice care and her answer comes without hesitation.

“That it isn’t all sadness.”

Behind every visit from our Children’s Team is a community of supporters whose generosity makes this care possible. Because of them, families caring for a child with a life-limiting condition can receive expert care at home, creating more time for the moments that matter most.

There are difficult days, of course. But there is also laughter, storytelling, birthday celebrations, memory books, games and precious moments of normal family life.

“The best part of my job is seeing families enjoy time together,” says Sam. “Those moments might seem small, but they can mean everything.”