Solent NHS Trust charity receives donation following end of life care of patient
Friends and colleagues of a much-loved Nuffield Health Portsmouth employee who sadly died from cancer have raised £750 for Solent NHS Trust charities in her memory.
Kim Harris, 60 and from Southsea, sadly passed away in April 2021 after fighting a dignified battle with the disease for almost two years. She was supported at home by the Portsmouth Community Nursing Support Service and Specialist Palliative Care Team at Solent NHS Trust. Kim’s family and friends wanted to donate the money as a thank you to all the care Kim had received.
Nuffield Health colleagues Simone Aspinall and Tanya Smith were instrumental in fundraising, rallying round with events and collections.
Simone, who works in the Membership Support Team at Nuffield Health in Portsmouth, worked with Kim, who was affectionately known by colleagues as “Mrs Kim” or “Kimbo”, for over 30 years. She said: “It was like she ran this place; she knew everything, and everyone knew her. Everyone loved her – she was just so approachable.
“We thought it would be such a good cause to donate to when you realise what a fantastic job these guys do, and I hope they realise how important they are. Their support enabled Kim to stay at home with her family and they looked after her so well.”
Colleagues will join Race for Life in the coming weeks as they continue to raise more money for cancer charities.
Kim’s husband Glyn Harris paid tribute to his wife and said a huge thank you to Solent’s community teams who cared for Kim in her final few months.
He said: “The community team were a huge help. Her end of life team, who were present in Kim’s final days would turn up with a smile on their faces and were always punctual. They supported Kim with dignity and an enormous caring and willing attitude throughout. Nothing appeared to be too much trouble for them. The team were an asset to the Trust as a whole and I cannot praise them enough.
“In addition to the Much Loved donations of £1,861, Tanya and Simone have worked so hard to raise this further amount – with Tanya arranging the events. Once again, a huge thank you to them both from me and my sons Owen and Evan.”
Stevielee Davies, Healthcare Support Worker for the Portsmouth Community Nursing Support Service and Lucy Goldsmith, Macmillan Physiotherapist for the Specialist Palliative Care Team at Solent NHS Trust both cared for Kim in her final few weeks and months. The teams work closely together to ensure patients receive specialist wrap-around care.
Lucy said: “Kim was so determined and independent. She had such a supportive family.
“It has been really moving to hear from Glyn and other people close to Kim – and to see with this incredible fundraising – what a difference it made to Kim and her family to have the support of palliative care services in that last week of her life.”
Stevielee added: “It’s a real privilege to go into people’s homes and help people in the most difficult time in their lives. We have to build that trust and connection to be able to help them stay at home and to carry out their wishes.”