Emma shares this latest news from Earl Mountbatten Hospice. Ed
Staff and volunteers at Earl Mountbatten Hospice have been asked to think about what makes them proud to work or volunteer at the hospice and to serve the Isle of Wight community for this year’s Hospice Care Week (3 to 9 October 2016).
The annual event is organised by national charity Hospice UK and aims to raise awareness of the work of hospices across the country. One of the aims is to show how varied and surprising hospice work can be, and to show that this is only possible because of the dedication of hundreds of expert staff and volunteers.
Supporting those nearing end of their lives
Every day, Earl Mountbatten Hospice’s highly skilled staff support hundreds of people who are nearing the end of their lives in their own homes.
Our hospital team based at St Mary’s enables people to die in the place of their preference, by supporting them to go home as soon as they are able under the expert care of our community team. The hospice’s 16-bed Inpatient Unit backs up our community team and also offers respite care for patients and their families.
Hearing from our staff and volunteers
As part of efforts to raise awareness of our many areas of work during Hospice Care Week, staff and volunteers have told us why they are proud to work in their particular service. Among them are Jill George, our Admiral Nurse, whose simple message is that she is: “Proud to….care for people with dementia and their families.”
The message from Healthcare Assistant Lesley Rogers, who is part of our Rapid Response Team, is the she is: “Proud to….give personal care in people’s homes” and Trish Reeves, part the hospice’s Palliative Care team based at St Mary’s Hospital, says she is: “Proud to…..support people who wish to return home from hospital to die.”
Showing the breadth of our work
Many other staff and volunteer messages are being made into posters for display around the hospice site, and will be used on social media during Hospice Care Week.
Nigel Hartley, CEO, said:
“Hospice Care Week is a great chance to show the Isle of Wight community the breadth of work we do. Many people think about hospice care as our building in Newport, but it’s a little known fact that we do more work now to support people in their own homes.
“It also allows us to explain that we are independent on the Isle of Wight, here for the Island’s community, and not part of any national charity. And it gives an opportunity to thank our community for their ongoing and unwavering support for the hospice in so many ways.”
Our work across the community
Here is more information about Earl Mountbatten Hospice and the work we do across the community:
- We are an independent charity Although we receive around a third of our funding from the local NHS Clinical Commissioning Group (which decides how to spend NHS budgets for local people), we are a totally independent charity and receive no other government funding. Two thirds of our funding comes from the generosity and support of Islanders, which means our services can continue to be available free of charge.
- Earl Mountbatten Hospice is not just a building Many people think of Earl Mountbatten Hospice as our building on Halberry Lane in Newport. But we actually care for hundreds of people in their own homes (including care homes) than we do on our 16-bedded Inpatient Unit in the Hospice building. We also care and support the whole family in their own homes and in the community, because death and dying impacts on others as well as the patient.
- Our nurses are Earl Mountbatten Hospice nurses and are paid for from our annual budget. We are not part of any larger national charity – all of the funds you raise for the hospice on the Isle of Wight go directly towards caring for and supporting your community here on the Island.
- Hospices are for living life We offer the highest quality, expert care during the final days of life, but our support starts a long time before this. Far from being a place to come and die, many people who come to our inpatient unit go home again after receiving care and treatment. Our hospice is about living life to the full, and many people comment about the inspiring and joyful environment.
- We look after people with all kinds of illnesses Your hospice doesn’t just look after people with cancer. We care and support people with a number of life-limiting illnesses, including motor neurone disease and liver failure. We also look after frail, older people who are near the end of life, as well as patients with dementia and their families.
- We need your help each and every year Although we are very fortunate to receive the majority of our funding from Islanders, we do continue to need your support. Every year, we begin again the task to raise the £5m of the £7m it costs to provide our expert care and support. We are incredibly grateful for your continued support, which is absolutely vital to patient and family care.
