Ballymena woman shares mum’s final days as families invited to help shape palliative care
- Love Ballymena
- 3 hours ago
- 4 min read
Pauline O’Neill with her mum, Emer McBride and family
A Ballymena woman has spoken movingly about the peace her mother found during her final days at Antrim Area Hospital, as patients and families are invited to use their own experiences — good or bad — to help improve palliative and end of life care.
Pauline O’Neill said her mother became “very settled, very calm” after entering the Macmillan Unit, describing the care provided by staff as something that “meant everything” to her family.
Her experience is being shared as the Northern Health and Social Care Trust seeks patients, carers, bereaved relatives and others with lived experience to join its Palliative and End of Life Care Service User Involvement Network.
The initiative gives people who have experienced palliative care in hospital or the community an opportunity to influence how services and information are developed.
“Mum found peace”
Reflecting on her mother’s care, Pauline said:
“Mum found peace, which is what she wanted. As soon as we got into the Macmillan unit, she was very settled, very calm. She was happy to be here.
“It meant everything to know that mum was receiving the level of care she got here.
“There wasn’t any need of mum’s that was unmet, from the nurses, doctors, the healthcare assistants, the domestics who used to come in and talk to mum in the morning; everybody who works here was absolutely amazing, and you couldn’t ask or want for more.”
Pauline’s story comes ahead of Palliative Care Week 2026, which runs from Sunday 6 September until Saturday 12 September and aims to increase public understanding of palliative care and the support it can provide to patients and their families.
Experiences — positive or negative — can help shape services
Importantly, the Northern Trust is not only seeking people who have had positive experiences.
It wants to hear from those whose experiences have been less positive too, with feedback intended to identify what works well, where problems exist and what could be done differently.
People can decide how and when they become involved, recognising that discussing serious illness, caring and bereavement can be deeply personal.
No clinical or medical knowledge is required.
Pauline O’Neill with Elaine Hamill
Fiona Gilmour, Macmillan Palliative Care Service Improvement Lead within the Northern Trust, said:
“The insight and experience that members bring is invaluable. By involving patients, families and carers in shaping our work, we can ensure our services and resources are responsive to people’s needs, helping us to continuously improve care and achieve the best possible outcomes for those we support.
“We know that some of the most meaningful improvements come from listening to people with lived experience. Their feedback helps us better understand what is working well, where changes may be needed and how we can continue to provide compassionate, person-centred care for patients and families across the Northern Trust area.”
“It was such a relief… to just feel heard”
County Antrim woman Sharon Stewart is already involved in the network and said she initially questioned how useful her contribution would be.
Service user Sharon Stewart with Anne O’Hagan and Fiona Gilmour from our Macmillan team
She said:
“I was very nervous going into the first meeting, not knowing what to expect and wondering how welcome I would be or how useful my contribution could be. I shouldn’t have worried about anything because from the first conversation it was clear this team were eager to make each family’s experience with their service as positive as possible.
“I felt heard and valued not only by how inclusive the meetings were but by the insightful questions they asked and the time they were ready to give to get it right. The time working with the team has been very productive and positive. They heard me and wanted to understand a service user’s point of view.
“I have gained so much from volunteering as a service user. It was such a relief to have the opportunity to voice my experiences and just feel heard. Caring for my husband was my privilege but also the hardest thing I have ever done.
“I know becoming a service user volunteer has been a positive part of my recovery from the trauma of caring for my loved one as he reached the end of his life. I have also made some amazing new friends.”
How patients and families can get involved
The network is open to people who have used Northern Trust services as a patient, family member or carer, as well as bereaved relatives and others who were important to a patient’s care journey.
Those who take part can contribute in different ways depending on what they are comfortable with.
Work involving service users has already included updating information booklets for patients and families, developing online resources for people living with advanced cancer, supporting public events dealing with palliative care and grief, and creating resources to help schools support young people affected by serious illness and bereavement.
Anyone interested in joining the Palliative and End of Life Care Service User Involvement Network, or who would simply like to find out more before deciding, can contact the Palliative Care Service Improvement Team at: palliativecare.events@northerntrust.hscni.net
Pauline’s experience is also featured in a video produced for Palliative Care Week below.
For the Trust, the aim is to turn experiences such as Pauline’s and Sharon’s into practical improvements — while also providing a route for families whose care did not meet their expectations to explain what needs to change.
