'Helping end-of-life patients helps us live fully' (opens original article in a new tab)

Volunteers in Bristol and Swindon provide end-of-life support to patients and their families, focusing on emotional care and companionship.

• Hazel Bulger volunteers as a hospice neighbour to Eric, a terminal illness patient, to help him regain his identity and provide emotional support.
• St Peter's Hospice's hospice neighbours program focuses on supporting patients by emphasizing their personhood rather than their illness.
• Butterfly volunteers at Great Western Hospital offer companionship and respite to end-of-life patients and their families, spending nearly 800 hours with patients in the past year.