Nurses spending their own money on toiletries for dying patients, says charity

He was taken to Salford Royal Hospital where he passed away, but not before Steph washed him one last time.

“I felt a really overwhelming desire to bathe my child, and I thought that I'm not unique in any sense of the word,” Steph told LBC.

"So I think that there must be other parents that have that overwhelming innate desire to bathe their child. My son was 18, but to me he was still a baby. He was my baby.”

The toiletries available to Steph were only basic and she had to use a cardboard bowl.

"I think it's a level of respect, really. I know the hospital aren't trying to sort of disrespect you by giving you what looks like a bowl that looked more like a bedpan, to be fair, but I just felt, oh my God, this is what I'm going to be using to bathe my child, my baby for the last time.”

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Steph realised it often comes down to nurses to make sure there are products on hand to give patients and their families a sense of dignity and normality.

Abby Ward, a nurse in Critical Care at Salford Royal, told LBC: “When I do my shop, I will just grab an extra bottle of body lotion or an extra body wash and bring them into work, so we're able to wash patients with nice smelling toiletries.

“The majority of the staff on the unit actually do do this and they bring their own bag in, containing deodorants, perfumes, body wash, shampoo, things like that, just so we're able to give patients a nice wash and a little bit of normality as well so by us being able to provide something like that and especially in these boxes that they provided, it's incredible, it's amazing and so many people will benefit from them.”

The experience inspired Steph to start a charity in memory of Etienne, who liked to be called Justin.

Just.Bathe gives boxes containing toiletries and olive wood bowls to hospitals, to provide “comfort and care during life’s hardest moments” for anyone going through what Steph did.

LBC joined Steph as she delivered the new Just.Bathe kits to Salford Royal: “The last time I came here was the night that my son was admitted into critical care, and I have to say, my heart is racing, got terrible palpitations because it just brings back all the emotions that I felt that night.

“I'm sort of struggling to speak, to be honest, but it's something that has to be done because I just want his legacy to live on.”