Lancaster's hospice has joined a national campaign featured in a powerful TV advert based on real-life stories of care.
St John’s Hospice is one of 143 hospices taking part in the national 'This is Hospice Care' campaign which aims to raise awareness of the vital role hospices play in communities and to answer some of the myths about hospice care.
The national campaign, launched on February 17, is capturing hearts and minds through a powerful TV advert based on real life hospice stories.
The goal is to encourage people to consider leaving a gift in their Will to support their local hospice, ensuring that these essential services can continue to provide these compassionate and specialist services now and for future generations.
“We are excited to be part of this campaign that highlights the critical work we do and the lasting impact that gifts in Wills have on our ability to continue providing St Johns care in the Hospice and in patients’ homes," said Sue McGraw, chief executive of St John’s Hospice.
“Thanks to the generosity of our supporters, legacy giving cares for one in four of our patients across the area. St John’s provides end of life and palliative care from Grasmere and Kendal down to Garstang, and everywhere between Morecambe and Sedbergh, that’s 500 square miles of St John’s care 24/7, 365 days a year for nearly 40 years.
“Although our care is freely given, it is not without cost. Unlike the NHS we are not fully state funded. Currently the local NHS funds 25% of our care, so we rely heavily on charitable donations for the remaining 75%, of which a vital proportion comes from gifts in Wills.”
Maddy Bass, director of nursing and quality at St John’s Hospice said: “St John’s Hospice touches the lives of thousands of people every year; the patients we care for, their families and friends and the wider community.
"St John’s care provides nursing and medical care, therapies, social worker advice, bereavement and grief support. Over 80% of the patients we care for are in your neighbourhood, in their own homes, with the advice of the Clinical Nurse Specialist team, the Hospice at Home team, respite visits and night sits.
“Our aim is to celebrate the lives of our patients and provide pain and symptom management. We make every moment matter; it’s the visits from patients’ pets whether a dog or a horse, the weddings we arrange, the special anniversary occasions, the memory boxes we help create and the letters we help patients write. As the campaign says, our hospice care is everything you’d expect and everything you wouldn’t.”
By 2040 the number of annual deaths in the UK is expected to rise by 130,000, with 90% from natural causes. These are the people who need hospice care. So, St John’s Hospice is encouraging local residents to consider the profound impact that a gift in their Will can have.
St John's Hospice, based on Slyne Road in Lancaster, provides palliative care for patients across the North Lancashire and Morecambe Bay area.
For more information about the 'This is Hospice Care' campaign or to find out how you can support St John’s Hospice please visit HERE or contact liz.edmondson@sjhospice.org.uk.
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