A Lancaster hospice's project helping families to look after their loved ones at the end of their lives has been nominated for a national Charity Award.
St John's Hospice's education programme Last Days Matter has made the shortlist for the longest-running and most prestigious awards scheme in the charity sector.
The hospice has been shortlisted in the Education and Training category for the standalone three-hour education session to help the community to prepare for palliative and end of life matters.
The Charity Awards is the sector’s most highly-regarded excellence recognition scheme and is this year celebrating its 25th anniversary.
All 30 shortlisted charities this year have been judged by an independent panel of sector leaders as having demonstrated best practice in leadership and management, from which other organisations can learn.
"Many people feel ill-equipped to deal with the issues around end of life and are worried that they won’t be able to support and care for their loved one as they want to," said Maddy Bass, director of nursing, St John’s Hospice.
"We also know some people are nervous about starting difficult conversations and others can feel nervous about looking after their loved ones at home if they aren’t a doctor or nurse.
“So, the three-hour standalone Last Days Matter session was developed by St John’s Hospice with North Lancashire Compassionate Communities and community colleagues to support people without any care or nursing qualifications to help look after their loved ones, be they friends or family.
“The feedback about the session is excellent, to read peoples’ comments about the positive impact of attending Last Days Matter is truly moving. The session is open to all, because palliative and end of life care is relevant to every one of us.”
Sue McGraw, chief executive at St John’s Hospice said: “We are very honoured to have been shortlisted for this award.
"This nomination is testament to the collaboration between St John’s and the community groups who have supported this work.
"Last Days Matter is now being taken up by hospices across the country, which shows just how valuable this education is.
"It was developed with a tiny budget, and we believe our decision to offer it at no charge to participants and other independent hospices was the right one for our charity to make.”
The 10 category winners, plus the recipients of the Overall Award for Excellence and the Daniel Phelan Award for Outstanding Achievement, will be announced at a black-tie dinner on Thursday July 3, held at the Royal Lancaster Hotel in London.
The evening will be hosted by BBC news presenter Asad Ahmad, who will be joined on the night by a host of celebrities, representatives of the shortlisted charities, as well as leaders from Britain’s best known and best loved charities.
Matthew Nolan, chief executive of Civil Society Media which organises the Charity Awards, congratulated St John’s Hospice on making the highly-coveted shortlist.
“For a quarter of a century now, the Charity Awards has been showcasing and celebrating the terrific work of UK charities large and small," he said.
“At a time when the sector is struggling with higher costs, shrinking donations and ever-increasing demand for its work, it is reassuring and inspiring to see the extent and quality of charitable activity that is still going on across the country.
“We offer our heartfelt congratulations to all the charities on this year’s shortlist; we know that times are tough and you should all be very proud of getting this far. We wish St John’s Hospice the best of luck on the night.”
To find out more about Last Days Matter and to book your place see HERE.
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