Hospital Volunteers Support 1,000 Patients at End of Life

No one should have to die alone, and thanks to a new volunteer program in Sussex, England, nearly 1,000 patients and families didn't have to.

In just one year, the "A Friend In Need" service has provided companionship to 383 patients in their final days and supported 611 family members through almost 900 bedside visits at University Hospitals Sussex NHS Trust.

The program pairs trained volunteers with patients who might otherwise spend their last hours without company. Volunteer Jenny Barnes explains the simple but powerful mission: "It's about knowing they have mattered, do matter, and will always matter."

Andy Kelly experienced the service's impact firsthand when his mother suffered a sudden heart attack in May 2025. The shock and stress of losing her was overwhelming for his family, but the volunteers made an impossible time more bearable.

"The care provided throughout, including up to the death of my mother a few days later, could not have been any better," Kelly said. He called the team heroes who made "a very difficult time that little bit easier."

The need is real. In the UK, half of all deaths happen in hospitals, and research shows up to 92% of people with terminal illnesses experience loneliness.

Professor Ollie Minton, a consultant in palliative medicine, knows the stakes. "We only have one chance to get it right at the end of someone's life," he said.

Why This Inspires

This program reminds us that presence matters more than we think. These volunteers aren't medical professionals performing procedures or administering treatments. They're simply showing up, sitting beside someone, and saying through their actions: you're not alone.

The partnership between the NHS trust, Friends of Brighton & Hove Hospitals, and the Anne Robson Trust proves that compassion doesn't require enormous budgets or complex systems. Sometimes the most powerful medicine is human connection.

Chris Rendel, chair of Friends of Brighton & Hove Hospitals, said families consistently express how much the companionship means. "That is the only encouragement we need to do even more," he said.

The program's success has already sparked plans to expand to other hospitals in the trust, starting with Princess Royal in Haywards Heath.

A thousand lives touched by simple human kindness in just twelve months.