Jonnie Irwin shares candid insight into hospice stay and 3-year palliative care

24 July 2023 , 13:19

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Jonnie Irwin has shared an invaluable insight into life in a hospice and cleared up misconceptions about palliative care.

The former Escape To The Country star, 49, admitted he had reservations about spending time in a hospice but now finds them "spacious and energised" spaces.

Dad-of-three Jonnie first opened up about hospice stays last month, sharing how he has to "remove himself" from his family home and spend time in facilities following his terminal diagnosis.

Speaking on Morning Live on Monday, Jonnie explained how he has "been using palliative care for three years" as he appeared on the BBC One show from a hospice via video link.

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Jonnie Irwin appeared from his hospice via video link on Morning Live (Morning Live/BBC)

Clearing up some of the misconceptions about palliative care, Jonnie explained: "It's the care you're given when doctors think you won't recover - I've been in palliative care since day one, when I got my diagnosis. It can take many guises - from hospital visits and chemotherapy all the way to the hospice."

Jonnie Irwin will record video messages for wife and kids to watch after he dies

Last month, Jonnie shared how hospice stays help him live alongside his terminal illness. The former A Place In The Sun presenter, who shares two young sons with wife Jessica, explained how he leave his family home when the suffering becomes too much to bear.

"I remove myself on a number of occasions because I'm not good to be around when I'm in pain," he told HELLO!. "I'm like a bear with a sore head and I don't want them to be around that."

Reflecting on his recent and current hospice stays, the property guru shared on Morning Live on Monday: "It's a delight actually! I wouldn't say it's like [staying in] a hotel but it is like a very nice, private hospital. My perceptive [of hospices] was very much a room full of frail people towards the end of their days, but this is nothing of sort - it's spacious, energised, comfortable... there is even jacuzzi!!

He added how the staff in the private hospice he is staying in have been "amazing" before Dr Ranj Singh further educated BBC viewers on palliative care - explaining how the redirection of care can "go on for years or just days - it depends on the individual situation".

"My first experience of palliative care in a hospice was when I was having blood transfusions," Jonnie went on to recall to hosts Helen Skelton and Gethin Jones. "I had my first transfusions in hospital and was invited to use a hospice as a day patient. I went into a lovely room with biscuits piled up and dipped in and out. I implore people to check out hospices - if you've got the choice to use them, then use them. It's not all doom and gloom."

Following a clip of the Morning Live segment being shared on social media, Twitter users rushed to praise the BBC show and Jonnie for the insightful conversation. Captioning a clip of the chat, one viewer tweeted: "This is a truly lovely moment of informed discussion about palliative care and hospice care. My thoughts are with Jonnie Irwin too who’s energy and impassioned words are incredibly moving."

Jonnie and Jessica with their three young sons (Instagram)

Another added: "Thank you @jonnieirwin @DrRanj and @BBCMorningLive for tacking a lot of the misconceptions about palliative care. Services are structured very similarly in the Republic of Ireland. Glad to hear you are so well supported @jonnieirwin. Wishing you well each day!"

A third wrote: "Thank you @BBCMorningLive this type of divulgation and public education is so valuable and needed! It actually changes people’s lives. Thank you @jonnieirwin for your generosity in sharing your personal experience."

"Well done Jonnie Irwin. Best description of palliative care and how it’s funded I’ve heard in a long time," another of the many positive tweets directed towards Jonnie and the BBC show reads.

Jonnie shared last year how he is unsure how long he has left to live, after being diagnosed with lung cancer in August 2020, which has since spread to his brain. The dad-of-three was shooting a TV project in Italy when he first realised something might be wrong with his health. In August 2020 he had an episode of blurry vision whilst he was driving - with subsequent tests confirming the dad-of-three had developed lung cancer, which had spread to his brain.