Worcestershire hospice asks what hospice care is to you
St Richard’s Hospice will be joining forces with 200 other hospices across the UK to help raise public awareness and celebrate the compassionate care provided by hospices across the country.
This year the Hospice Care Week (October 3rd- 9th October) campaign organised by Hospice UK, is celebrating the difference hospice care makes to those living with life-limiting illnesses and their loved ones. During the week St Richard’s Hospice will be highlighting how hospices help every moment count, celebrating the surprising side of hospice care.
Anne Crowder from Malvern, who lives with Parkinson’s Disease, is one of the hospice patients who benefits from St Richard’s all-encompassing care. Anne has always been a keen letter writer, but the pain in her hands from the illness meant she could no longer enjoy the activity. St Richard’s Community Volunteer, Margaret, stepped in and now visits Anne at home every Sunday and writes the letters and cards for her so she can still keep in touch with friends and family. Anne said Margaret’s help has ‘opened her world.’
Margaret McNeil explained, “quite often people really miss the little things they were able to do before ill health struck. Patients are comforted by the fact that they can rely on the hospice for additional support and are pleasantly surprised by the services which we offer. I particularly enjoy building one to one relationships and find it a privilege to be welcomed into someone’s home.”
Staff will be going out into the community sharing the stories of hospice care and information on the wide range of services. There will be pop up stands at Asda, Worcester; Tesco St Peter’s; Droitwich Library; patient artwork on show at County Hall, Worcester as well as in hospice shops in Worcester, Pershore and Malvern Link.
Mark Jackson, Chief Executive at St Richard’s Hospice, said; “We are delighted to support this national awareness raising campaign. We will be encouraging our supporters to share their stories and memories of hospice care, especially through social media, to help spread the word that hospice care reaches out in many ways.”
“We hope that people will realise that hospice care is more diverse than they might first think and will become more aware of where else it is available, especially the support hospices offer to people in their own homes.”
During Hospice Care Week, St Richard’s will be sharing stories from patients, staff and volunteers and inviting people to let them know what hospice care means to them by on social media using the hashtag #hospicecareis
Find out more on the hospice Facebook or Twitter pages.
St Richard’s Hospice provides free specialist palliative care for patients living with life-limiting illnesses and supports their families. Each year the hospice team supports over 2,500 patients and family members in Worcestershire with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect.
Patients are cared for in Day Hospice, the 17-bed In-patient Unit or in their own homes by a specialist professional team as well as many trained volunteers.
In the In-patient Unit, specialist staff are on hand 24 hours a day to manage patients’ symptoms and where, if appropriate, patients may spend the last few days of life in comfort and dignity. St Richard’s is an independent charity and is grateful for all donations to help it to continue its work.