Family praise specialist hospice team support

A Cambridgeshire family have praised a specialist team of nurses from a local hospice saying that choosing to work with them is “the best decision” they could have made.

. Subhaan Karman family, who live in Peterborough, have been receiving care and support from East Anglia's Children's Hospices (EACH) since October 2014. 

Two year-old Subhaan suffers from a yet undiagnosed neurodegenerative condition. His condition means he is unable to walk and has complex care needs that require 24 hour care. Subhaan’s mum Siddra and dad Kamran say the range of care and support they receive from EACH has made a real difference to their family life. Siddra Aziz, said: “The support we receive from EACH is invaluable. The charity provides day care so that I can go to appointments and do general jobs such as shopping without worrying about Subhaan’s care. We also have the specialist play team coming to our home every couple of weeks, which Subhaan really enjoys.” 

The family receive care from the charity’s special True Colours Symptom Management Team (TCT) who provide specialist symptom management support around the clock in person and by phone. The team of highly qualified nurses deliver care and support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week ensuring all eligible life-threatened children, young people and their families have access to specialist support and advice. They offer expert advice to families who are making decisions around their child’s care and work alongside other health and wellbeing professionals to deliver a child focused care plan. 

Siddra continued: “Working with the TCT has been the best decision we made. Before we met Debbi from the team we were struggling with simple day to day tasks, and were spending most of our time in hospital trying manage Subhaan’s condition. They really support our whole family through the tough times, always completely understand our situation and come up with solutions and different care techniques. Since we’ve been working with the TCT Subhaan has been so much more settled, his complex needs are better managed and we spend a lot more time at home rather than in hospital. “They also helped by referring me on for counselling through EACH - I had a very tough winter and the counselling support has been so beneficial. Being able to talk to someone got me through a very difficult time.” 


EACH are the chosen charity for Chariots of Fire 2015. The funds raised through this iconic event will be used to support the TCT team so the charity can continue to provide a team of specialist nurses who deliver the high quality service 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to support families like Subhaan’s. 

Charles Hewitson, race director said: “I have been delighted to witness the benefits provided by Chariots each year to our official charity. The continued level of support extended by the Cambridge Community and the generosity provided by each of the Colleges and our event suppliers is further testament to the appeal of Chariots. It is encouraging that in this increasingly competitive environment that all participants are prepared to raise funds for our selected charity, EACH. Case studies, such as this one, really do emphasise the importance of the True Colours Symptom Management Team (TCT) and why EACH and every pound of sponsorship money raised is valuable.” To show your support for EACH and their TCT service visit their just giving page at https://www.justgiving.com/teams/EACH-Chariots or enter a team in Chariots of Fire for Sunday 20th September at www.chariots-of-fire.co.uk/enter