Half of all deaths in the UK take place in a hospital bed, many of those patients have few or no visitors at all in the last days of life. The Anne Robson Trust works with hospitals to set up and embed teams of butterfly volunteers, led by dedicated coordinators, to support patients and their loved ones at this extremely challenging time.

“We are very excited to announce that the Princess Alexandra Hospital has become our Centre of Excellence for training coordinators to work in hospitals across the UK. Our aim is that as many patients as possible are supported in the last days of life. No one should die alone.” said Liz Pryor, director and founder of the Anne Robson Trust, a small but rapidly growing charity that is already working with 5 NHS trusts in the East of England.

“The butterfly volunteers make a fundamental difference to patients, their families, NHS staff and the volunteers themselves. The impact they make is humbling, giving time and support to anyone who needs them. I feel very proud to be training new coordinators to take on this impactful role” said Nicki Harris, lead trainer and butterfly volunteer coordinator at PAHT.

Sharon McNally, director of nursing and midwifery at PAHT said: “We are delighted to be leading the Centre of Excellence for training coordinators working in hospitals across the UK. The care and compassion butterfly volunteers provide to patients in the last days of their lives, and the comfort they offer to families and carers is invaluable. We hope the training delivered at PAHT enables many other healthcare settings to adopt this instrumental support service.”