Welcome!

to the Spring/Summer 2023 edition of Life magazine.

Welcome to the Spring/Summer edition of Life Magazine. As we welcome another spring at the Hospice, we’ve taken time to reflect on the past few years. We have all seen so many changes throughout what has been a difficult time; changes to our routines and how we go about our daily lives, staff sickness and ongoing recruitment difficulties. One thing that hasn’t changed is our team’s commitment to putting our patients first and delivering the very best care at the most important time.

And while we have faced many challenges, both personally and as an organisation, we have learnt so much. We're pleased to be shining a light on a successful new service, the Access Team – read about the important role they play in making sure people in our community get the care they need on page 13.

We had a wonderful close to 2022 with our Light up a Life appeal raising a phenomenal £115,000. I would like to thank you all for your generosity and support. We are incredibly proud of the work we do at St Columba’s Hospice Care, it’s a true privilege to support someone at the end of their life and we are honoured to fulfil that role within our local community.

Coming up this year, we have a variety of events in the planning, from the return of our Dook a Day cold water challenge in May, to an exciting new route for our Cycle France challenge in September. We’ll also be hosting our popular Art Exhibition in the autumn and inviting people to sign up for charity places in the Edinburgh Marathon Festival and Scottish Half. There really is something for everyone so please take a look at our full events calendar on page 21 for more details.

We’re also delighted to bring you details of our Summer Appeal on page 15 which focuses on the work we’ve been doing throughout Edinburgh and the Lothians to support children and their families through bereavement. Fresh from winning a Hospice UK Award, our Family Support Team continue to work in partnership with other hospices, nurseries, schools, Child Bereavement UK and others, collaborating to influence change at a national level. A huge congratulations to the team for gaining national recognition for their hard work.

On behalf of everyone at the Hospice, thank you for your support. So many people come together to make the work of the Hospice possible, I’d like each and every one of you to know you are a vital part of something truly incredible.

With best wishes for 2023,

Jackie Stone CEO

P.s. When it comes to delivering world class palliative care, your feedback is invaluable to us. We want to know what’s important to you. So, if you have comments or concerns about any aspect of our service please get in touch by emailing info@stcolumbashospice.org.uk.

Volunteers on New Year’s Honours

At the beginning of the year, we were delighted to learn that two of our fabulous volunteers, Mavis Little and Carol Graham, have been awarded MBEs for services to the community. Everybody here is so proud of them receiving this well-deserved recognition. The ceremony will take place later this year.

Sunflower Scotland: Compassion and donations

We were delighted to receive a certificate of thanks from voluntary organisation Sunflower Scotland, for our contribution to the 150 tonnes of aid which was sent directly from Edinburgh to cities in Ukraine last year. As a cause close to the hearts of many staff and volunteers, we'd like to extend a thank you to everyone involved for their invaluable support, help, compassion and donations.