Couple to pay nurse's salary after she cared for dying grandmother

Tracy and Wayne Phillips were able to spend the last three weeks of Jean's life with her in their home

A son whose mother died while at a hospice has pledged to cover the salary of a nurse who helped care for her.

Wayne Phillips and wife Tracy donated an initial £10,000 to St David's Hospice Care in memory of Wayne's mum Jean, 82, who died in March.

They will also pay nurse Faye Russell-Jones' wages - over £60,000 - until 2025.

It comes as hospice charities say the cost of living crisis is badly affecting fundraising.

Jean Phillips moved from her house in St Brides, Newport, into her son's home in the Bassaleg area of the city as her health deteriorated in early 2023.

Wayne, 46, said his mother had cancer in her liver, stomach and bones, and had asked that she be able to stay with them.

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Tracy, 41, said: "[Jean] was petrified of the unknown. She'd wake up panicking."

The couple, who have six children, were referred to the hospice by Jean's GP and received a call the next day from palliative care nurse Faye.

Tracy said of Faye: "[She is] amazing, fantastic. If I could bottle her up, turn her into a perfume and stick her on the shelf I would.

"We were already doing a lot of care at that point. There was a lot of [being] up in the night."

Wayne, a strategic planning consultant, said: "The decision we had to make was if we were able to cope with Mum basically dying in our house. That's where the miracle of St David's comes in."

Faye arranged for equipment to be brought to the house and for nurses to care for Jean, give the family respite, and help with difficult conversations such as preferred funeral arrangements.

Wayne said: "You've only got one shot at this, when you're looking after someone at the end of life. There's no replay.

Jean Phillips died at her son's Newport home, surrounded by family, on 17 March

"That in itself causes great stress, because you don't know if you're getting it right. You need somebody there to reassure you."

Tracy, who is a counsellor, added: "Jean wouldn't accept she was dying, and it was very hard for us to actually have that conversation.

"It was breaking us, it was breaking her. We were trying to protect her and little did we know she was trying to protect us."

Tracy said the care also gave them a chance to "enjoy" time spent with Jean, adding: "The nurses being there not only gave us time for a break but to spend those magical times with Jean and the fun times where we were able to laugh".

Wayne added: "We'd sit with her and she'd be joking and reminiscing."

It shocked the couple that all of the services provided to them by St David's were free.

'We feel lighter, calmer'

"To have other people help you when you have somebody you love dying in front of you, they don't know what they're coming into," said Tracy.

"We both feel lighter now, calmer, knowing that we did everything that we possibly could for Jean. We have no regrets."

Wayne added: "When they left our house they had to go and do it again somewhere else. Psychologically, it must be absolutely gruelling."

When the couple mentioned the proposed donation to Jean, she made them promise that they would follow through with it.

"She had it in her mind and she was very much [saying] 'you make sure you do that'," said Wayne.

The couple decided to be the first to take part in a new nurse sponsor initiative, which will see them cover Faye's salary until 2025.

Tracy and Wayne Phillips have sponsored nurse Faye Russell-Jones, who cared for Jean in the last three weeks of her life

Tracy added: "They were so grateful, but we were so grateful because they gave Jean and us our last days together.

"Illnesses don't stop because the cost of living goes up. Cancer doesn't stop. And they carry on. It's unbelievable."

Wayne said: "If what we do puts another nurse out there tonight, that's a wonderful thing."

Emma Saysell, chief executive of the hospice, said the charity gets 25% of its funding from the NHS, but costs £9m a year to run.

"We have always said we would like someone to sponsor a nurse. They are such a dedicated, compassionate team that try to go the extra mile," she said.

Toby Porter, chief executive of Hospice UK, says charities are "really squeezed" at the moment

Ms Saysell said that earlier this year the charity's energy bill increased from £155,000 a year to £450,000, and its 38 charity shops saw reduced custom.

"It's very hard to fundraise. Communities don't have the disposable income that they might have had to give to charities five years ago," she said.

Hospice UK estimates a collective deficit of £186m across the country's hospice charities.

Its chief executive Toby Porter said: "This is a beautiful and profoundly touching gesture - what a wonderful way to honour Jean's memory.

"Right now hospices' funds are being squeezed. I hope this beautiful story will inspire others to support St David's, or the many other charitable hospices serving communities across Wales."