A MUCH-LOVED TV and radio presenter and journalist whose face and voice was familiar to thousands of people around Wiltshire has died. Ashley Heath came to Swindon from Runcorn in the early 1990s to produce and present news, sport and feature programmes on TV channel Swindon Cable, then continued to work there until it closed in 2000. He went on to become a big part of BBC Wiltshire’s radio broadcasts and proved adept at adapting to any situation. During a 15-year stint at the station, he covered sombre Remembrance Day ceremonies, reported on royal visits, and interviewed his idol Peter Gabriel.
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IN MEMORIAM: All death notices in the Swindon Advertiser this week These are all the death notices in the Swindon Advertiser this week: SMALL Alan After a short illness, Alan Alfie Small passed away on 12th January 2021 at Great Western Hospital. Much loved husband to Mary, dad to Clare and Andrew, grampy, great-grampy, brother, uncle and friend to many, Alan will be greatly missed. Due to current restrictions a private family funeral service will be held at 1.30pm on 2nd February at Kingsdown Crematorium. Family flowers only please, however donations in Alan s name to Stratton Juniors Football Club would be most appreciated and can be made through Blackwells Independent Funeral Directors. 38 Cheney Manor Road, Swindon, Wiltshire. SN2 2NS.
Until March 2020, one of the benefits that many Prospect Hospice patients appreciated was the Day Therapy Service. Patients were offered a 16-week programme of activities twice a week at the hospice, which ranged from rehabilitation and physiotherapy to courses of how to manage symptoms such as stress, fatigue and breathlessness. It was also, says day therapy service lead Zoe O’Reilly, a chance for patients to have some social time with people facing similar challenges to the ones they faced. “The programmes we run are centred around the individual patient, understanding their goals and helping them achieve those,” said Zoe.
It takes a special kind of person to be a Prospect Hospice nurse. Here Hayley Kenealy, a clinical nurse specialist with the charity, tells us what the role entails - and why she loves the job. We normally see patients who are in the last year of their lives, so our work is palliative – that is relieving pain and discomfort – rather than curative. A clinical nurse specialist, or CNS, is a specialist in end of life care, rather than a generalist, and we work out in the community rather than at Prospect Hospice’s main building in Wroughton. We take referrals from GPs, district nurses, oncologists at the hospital and even sometimes patients themselves. Because we are specialist practitioners – and also because we are an independent charity, rather than part of the NHS, we can provide a range of practical, medical and emotional support that is tailored to each individual patient and their loved ones.
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Men holding casket
These are all the death notices in the Swindon Advertiser this week: CURTIS Jane Peacefully at home on Christmas Day 2020, aged 68 years. Much loved Wife of Bryan, devoted Mother of Robert, Sarah and the late Richard, loving Grandmother, Sister and Aunt. A private funeral to take place at St Mary s Church, Bampton due to Covid Restrictions on Monday 11th January at 11.00am, followed by burial in Bampton Cemetery at 11.30am. Flowers or donations, if desired, for the Hearing Dogs for The Deaf may be sent c/o Peter Smith & Son Funeral Directors Ltd, 135 Burwell Drive, Witney, Oxon, OX28 5LP. Tel: 01993 702000. www.petersmithandson.co.uk