End-of-life care is free of charge with a GP's referral and there are Oxfordshire hospice centres for terminally ill adults and specialist facilities for children and young people.

Families will have many fears when facing death, but the quality of hospice care in Oxfordshire need not be among them.

The county's hospice units provide highly specialist palliative care in warm, welcoming surroundings. The emphasise is on improving the quality of life and treating patients as individuals. Hospice care is free of charge, but patients will need to obtain a referral from their GP.

Oxford's Sobell House has a team of community nurses who visit 3,000 adult patients each year in their own homes, to help with physical symptoms and provide emotional support to the whole family.

There are also physiotherapists, occupational therapists and social workers, plus a team of bereavement counsellors.

If patients cannot be treated at home, they are welcomed into Sobell's bright, modern, 18-bed in-patient unit and day centre at Headington's Churchill Hospital.

Little touches to make patients feel comfortable include fresh, home-cooked meals and a drinks trolley offering alcoholic and soft drinks.

Katharine House Hospice also supports patients to live at home and strives to create a relaxed, homely atmosphere at its Adderbury premises, just to the south of Banbury.

Staff do not wear uniforms and patients are encouraged to bring in photographs and personal belongings to make the space their own.

The building is set in tranquil gardens with views across the Oxfordshire countryside, and has facilities for 10 patients, including four rooms where a family member can also stay.

Allowing a family member to stay is particular important when the patient is a child or a young adult.

Helen and Douglas House in Oxford has flats and suites, so that the whole family can be together.

By providing medical, emotional and spiritual support within comforable facilities, the hospice helps families to make the most of their precious time with a child or young person who will die prematurely.