That is such an important part of my job. Yes, I help maintain patient safety, manage symptoms and provide expert nursing care. But above all, I am there to be present for patients and their families when the night feels long.

I remember one patient who said to me, “Sam, I feel safe when you’re here at night.”

That feeling of safety is what Isabel Hospice gives to local families, around the clock.

But we can only be here because of supporters like you.

Today, I am asking for your help once again with our Around The Clock Appeal. This appeal is dedicated to helping ensure that every hour of every day—from the first light of dawn to the middle of the night—Isabel Hospice is there for eastern Hertfordshire.

If you are in a position to give today, your donation could help fund vital services:

• £35 could help provide a week’s worth of delicious breakfasts for a patient finding their appetite again.
• £56 could help enable a Hospice at Home nurse to make a two-hour lunchtime visit to patient, giving a family member a much-needed chance to rest.
• £210 could help fund a nurse’s night shift operating our 24-hour advice line and caring for patients at the IPU, providing a lifeline to those at home and on the unit.

If you would like to make a gift you can do so by completing by using the donation form on this page or by calling our supporter care team on 01707 954 850.

That is the difference you are able to make in local people’s lives.

Throughout the night, we also man our 24-hour advice line. This service is a lifeline for patients being cared for at home, and their families. It means that if someone wakes at 2am frightened, unsure, or just needing to hear another voice, they can pick up the phone and speak to us. It does not matter what time it is – we are here.

One lesson I have learned in my 35 years of palliative care is to truly appreciate life. it’s not about the destination, it is about the journey. By donating to our Around The Clock Appeal, you are enabling the journey of every patient we meet to be filled with dignity, comfort, and love.

Thank you for caring about the work we do at Isabel Hospice. Your gift today means that, no matter the hour, our patients and their families will not face life-limiting illness alone.

With heartfelt thanks,

Sam Deller

Senior Staff Nurse
Isabel Hospice

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But cancer is a cruel disease. By late 2023, Dad’s cancer had spread to his brain. At the same time, my mum received her own sudden, rapid diagnosis of lung cancer.

By early 2024, Mum was admitted to a local hospital with intolerable pain. Once again, I asked for a referral to Isabel Hospice. Dad came to stay with me, and soon became very poorly, sleeping most of the day and night, and showing signs that he was reaching the end-of-life.

My sister and I were desperately trying to split ourselves between Mum’s hospital bedside and Dad’s in my home. We were even doing video calls so Mum could watch him sleep from her hospital bed. It was heart breaking.

Then, Charlotte—the Head of Inpatient Services at Isabel Hospice—called me. She told me they had a bed for Mum, and then she said the words I will never forget: “We may be able to help Dad, too.”

Mum was transferred over and settled with the team and, the following day, it was confirmed that dad could go too. He was asleep almost constantly at this point, but when we told him he was going to be with mum at Isabel Hospice he came round a little bit and said “I like it there”.

My sister and I were offered a family apartment within the unit so we could stay close to Mum overnight. The night staff were simply brilliant, reassuring us that they were watching over Mum, and would come to get us the second we were needed. Because we knew she was in good hands, we felt able to rest.

At just after 10:00 PM on a Sunday night, Mum passed away. It was the night nurses who were with us, providing a level of supportive, compassionate care that I will never forget. Afterwards, they looked after us too. That is what Isabel Hospice did from the very beginning — they looked after our whole family, not just Mum and Dad.

Without Isabel Hospice, our story would have been so different, and even more devastating for us all. Donations are essential to keeping this vital service alive.

Please, if you are able, donate to the Around The Clock Appeal today. Every person deserves a comfortable, dignified death, and every family deserves to be able to step back, breathe, and just love one another at the end. Your donation could help make sure another family is not left to face their darkest hour alone.

Thank you.

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