North Devon Hospice newsletter - Winter 2015

news For supporters and friends of North Devon Hospice

Winter 2015

Issue 43

Our new range of greetings cards

Meet Charlie one of our volunteers

A letter from Evie

The Long House was opened by one of our patients, Ann, “I want to say how lucky I am to be at a centre like this�

being there for all the family

Meet Kevin, our new Chairman Kevin Underwood has been a familiar face at North Devon Hospice for a number of years, working behind the scenes as one of our Trustees, and in July he was appointed as Chairman of the Board. “When joining as a new volunteer I wanted to contribute using my skills and experience, just like every one of the army of hundreds of our volunteers. I didn’t anticipate that a few years down the line I would become Chairman of the Board of Trustees, a role I have accepted with honour and considerable pride.

A recent major milestone for the hospice was the opening of our first outreach centre, The Long House in Holsworthy. At the Long House we will be able to offer everything we can at Deer Park in Barnstaple, apart from the bedded facility. As well as being an amazing facility this shows just how much we are investing in providing the right type of care and support for people, as close to their home as possible, complementing our developing Hospice to Home service.

Our valued team of staff and volunteers work extremely hard, striving daily to provide the best care and support for local people and their families; this is our absolute priority. We are so grateful for you being there for us, we can only do our work because of you! We appreciate your tremendous unrelenting, loyal support and hope you will continue to support us this year. I would like say a really huge and very sincere thank you!�

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Cynthia’s book is a keepsake from treasured times at Day Hospice ‘Anyone want to go out in the buggy?’

With those words, Cynthia started on a remarkable journey. After joining the Day Hospice group, she accepted the invitation to go out on our golf buggy to enjoy the gardens at Deer Park.

“The sun was out, and I had taken my camera, so it was not long before I asked the driver to halt as a budding plant or greening tree caught my eye,” said Cynthia. “That was in May and I subsequently went out almost every week

to happily snap away in the gardens. When September and the rains came I wondered what, if anything, I could do with these photos that had become a garden diary.

Leo, who works at the hospice, was soon summoned and had the idea of putting them into a book. A few days later he reappeared with the finished product and I am delighted and thrilled more than I can say.”

Cynthia’s book of photos has been a hit with fellow patients from her Day Hospice group. It is another example of how many different ways people find pleasure while being supported by the hospice.

Lynne didn’t know about our Hospice to Home team... until they were there to support her Dad “My father received wonderful end of life care at home from the hospice team,” said Lynne Jackson from Barnstaple. “It was 24-hour care which was so vital for us at the time.

I didn’t know that such a service existed until we actually needed it, but the team supported our whole family and they were amazing. Nothing was too much trouble and it made such a difference at this difficult time.”

the final few days of life, or just when someone’s symptoms change and are more difficult to manage. Lynne’s experience has prompted her to support our annual Light Up a Life appeal. It is a way of remembering those we miss at Christmas by lighting a candle in their honour. Lynne said, “Please join me in donating towards the Light Up a Life appeal so more local families can receive the same specialist care and compassion from North Devon Hospice.”

Since 2013 our Hospice to Home team has been providing care around the clock for people in their own homes. This can be in

To support the appeal and make a donation in memory of your loved one, visit www.lightupalifenorthdevon.org.uk.

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b, Jane Wells, Stephen The Ribbon Cutting; (L-R) Angela Web rwood and Lady Arran Roberts, Ann, John Allen, Kevin Unde

The Long House is adjacent to the Holsworthy Medical Centre

It’s open

We are pleased to announce that The Long House is now open The hospice’s new outreach centre, adjacent to the Holsworthy Medical Centre, offers a peaceful sanctuary for people who are affected by a life-limiting illness, enabling them to access more care and support but much closer to home than ever before. After 2 years of fundraising, planning and building the doors are now open!

In the Bradbury Room patients and their families can access a number of support groups

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Do you need to access our care or support?

We work very closely with local health professionals. To access our specialist care and support, please ask your GP to refer you to North Devon Hospice.

We have dedicated rooms to offer complementary therapies to our patients and their carers

We were joined at the ribbon cutting by Ann, one of our patients from the area. After cutting the ribbon Ann kindly said a few words to a roomful of people who have helped to make it possible. Ann said “I want to say how lucky I am to be at a centre like this. I know I’ll always have people around me who will help me face what I have to face.

I want to thank North Devon Hospice and all its carers; thank you very much indeed.

Words cannot express what I had to face three years ago. Without the carers and hospice, I wouldn’t be here today. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

The hospice’s CEO, Stephen Roberts said “This is a proud moment for everyone connected with North Devon Hospice.

The Long House is the result of considerable effort from so many different people.

Opening the doors was an incredibly proud moment, not only for the hospice team, but also for the people of Holsworthy and surrounding areas, many of whom have supported our vision and helped to fundraise to make this possible. We have a vision to bring more of our care closer to people at home and with The Long House, we are going to do exactly that. I hope the local community will continue to help us fundraise so we can continue to provide care and support throughout the area. On behalf of all the team, thank you to everyone who has fundraised to date. We wouldn’t be here opening The Long House without you.” You can make a donation in support of The Long House by calling 01271 344248 or making a donation through our website www.northdevonhospice.org.uk

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Fundraisers take on the 3 Peaks Climbers from the Filleigh-based integrated communications agency, Bray Leino, raised over £5,000 for the hospice this summer, through a series of events culminating in an attempt on three of the highest mountains in the UK. We are pleased to report the climbers are now safely returned from their adventure. Bray Leino’s Austen Donnellan, one of the intrepid climbers, said: “It was a hard few months training for us, so it was a proud moment to be able to hand the cheque over. North Devon Hospice is an important part of the local community and it holds special meaning for many in Bray Leino, so we’ll continue to support its vital work.”

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79p in every pound spent on care and support There aren’t many charities that can say for every £1 they raise, over 79 pence is spent on providing care and support. We can! We look after every penny and every pound raised, because we want it to go where it means the most, on our patients and their families.

Working even closer with GPs Dr. Murray Fletcher, the hospice’s Consultant said “We have been working

closely with 5 GP practices in North Devon, providing them with referral reports that are specific to their practice and to their GPs. Our referral reports have been a real success in terms of improving access to our care and support. By working with GPs like this, it has meant that we are receiving more referrals from these practices and also raising their awareness about the wide range of services available to their patients. It is our aim to continue providing clear referral information and outcomes for local GPs. It is also our aim to ensure all local health and social care professionals are aware that we accept referrals from the point of diagnosis and not at the end of someone’s life.”

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Working together with Care Homes We deliver a range of education courses every year for local health professionals because it is important to promote the highest standard of care towards the end of life.

This year we rolled out the pilot ‘Six Steps’ programme for Care Homes, helping their staff become more confident when providing end of life care to their residents. Of the professionals we trained this year, 372 were Care Home staff. Chris, our Care Homes Facilitator said ‘‘Each training session focuses on a different topic and the discussion and support that grows from this is fantastic. The sessions are the ideal opportunity for local professionals to meet their peers and build on their knowledge.’’ The team hope to continue the Six Steps programme in 2016.

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Meet Charlie, one of our volunteers

“I come in every Tuesday morning to help on the Bedded Unit. I really enjoy it here.

Everyone is really nice and it’s nice to feel you are doing something for the patients.

I mostly help at breakfast time, taking everyone’s orders and delivering their food. I get to meet a lot of the patients and spend time with them. In my role it’s not about care, it’s about just helping people with things they might need. Just the other day I helped our patients to get online and access their messages from friends and family. Every day is different.

I really enjoy meeting people and the hands on work so I get a lot out of working on the Bedded Unit. “ Charlie’s background in security and tutoring is far removed from the work he does on the Bedded Unit, but that didn’t stop him from applying. “I’ve got a personal interest in healthcare and have always enjoyed working with people.

My work is very different from my volunteering work, but I enjoy it and it’s nice for me to offer my help every Tuesday. ”

If you are interested in volunteering with us, we would love to hear from you. We have people volunteering in all aspects of our work, from care to finance, to working in our shops. Please contact Kim or Bridget (below) for an informal chat about volunteering with us.

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You don’t have to look very hard to find one of our volunteers.

They are involved in every facet of hospice life. Charlie is just one of our volunteers who helps on the Bedded Unit every week.

Just the other day I helped our patients to get online and access their messages from friends and family

Interested in volunteering in our shops?

Please call Bridget Knowles, our Head of Retail on 01271 342792 or email bridgetknowles@northdevonhospice.org.uk

Interested in volunteering at Deer Park or The Long House?

Please call Kim Jones, our Volunteer Development Manager on 01271 344248 or email kimjones@northdevonhospice.org.uk

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A special letter from Evie

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Challenges we face ''Our hospice nurses often get mistaken for Macmillan nurses.

It’s a case of mistaken identity that has a big impact on us''

''We always need your donations because they mean we can keep on caring'' We always need your support and donations because every year we need to raise £3.5 million from scratch. At the end of the year, the counter resets to zero and we need to start raising that £3.5 million all over again. Your support, no matter how big or small, is incredibly important to us and we rely on it year after year. We work smartly to ensure that around 79 pence of every £1 you donate is spent where it means the most, providing care for our patients and their families.

There have been countless times where a family member has called and told us they were so grateful for all our help that they are going to make a donation to Macmillan. We are North Devon Hospice, not Macmillan.

Please help us to dispell the myth.

Unlike Macmillan, we are a local charity that relies on donations from the local community so that we can keep providing care and support.

Unlike Macmillan, we don’t only care for cancer patients, we care and support people who are affected by any life-limiting illness and that includes people with pulmonary disease and motor neurone disease, among others.

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Say it with a greetings card Our new range of greetings cards are available in our charity shops for just 99p!

North Devon Hospice, Deer Park, Barnstaple, EX32 0HU Tel: 01271 344248 info@northdevonhospice.org.uk www.northdevonhospice.org.uk registered charity number 286554

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