Autumn → Winter 2020
Honest Toun Musselburgh team supports Hospice
Access all areas F ind out about our brand
new Access Team
Arts in focus Our fortnight of arts based events!
stcolumbashospice.org.uk
www.stcolumbashospice.org.uk
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In this is 11 Community corner 13 Open for business 14 Get ready for
3 Welcome! 5 Hospice news
Christmas!
7 When words aren’t enough Our thanks to 8 Honest Toun Team
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ssue...
Keep in touch: e info@stcolumbashospice.org.uk → 15 Boswall Road Edinburgh, EH5 3RW t 0131 551 1381
21 A fortnight focusing on the arts Virtual arts 22 exhibition Space to play 23
Light Up a Life 15 17 Legacies 19 Supporting families in their homes
20 Complementary therapies update
25 Compassionate communities
27 Corporate corner 29 Virtual events 30 Virtual Pub Quiz!
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Welcome! to the Autumn/ Winter 2020 edition of Life magazine
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riting for the last issue of Life magazine I could not have imagined the unsettling and difficult times that we would all be facing now. COVID-19 has had a huge impact on us all: at home, at work and in so many ways. My first thoughts are that you are all safe and well. Here at St Columba’s we are very grateful for the support of our amazing staff and local community as we navigate this new normal together. You have helped us as we adapt our services and continue providing the compassionate care that we are known for, not
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only in our hospice building, but in other care settings too. Our aim has, for a long time, been to care well for as many people as possible and that remains our focus now through COVID-19, as much as at any other time. In this issue, you will read about some of the changes that we have made to make this possible. We have set up a new service to deal with referrals at first point of contact. This service is managed by a team of experts in our new Access Team, who triage, help and refer people quickly to the right care in the right setting for
them. This includes self-referrals from our wider community so that everyone has a chance to access vital palliative care. We also offer specialist palliative care advice to health professionals, care home workers and other care givers. We have a new Hospice at Home team, who care for, help enable and make lifeeasier for those receiving treatment at home. Our team not only helps our patients with practical and emotional support, but their families and carers too. Over the past few months, we have all been using technology more to communicate with our
P.24 Our new playpark is open
P.22 Our virtual art exhibition, October 2020
family, friends and colleagues. This is true for St Columba’s too. In this issue you can read about how our teams have innovated to deliver care and counselling online and by phone, how we have successfully run our first virtual fundraising events and how we are providing resources to support families impacted by grief and bereavement at this time.
safely to reflect and celebrate and remember. Our annual Light Up a Life event will be different this year, but we will quietly light up our three trees in Charlotte Square, Haddington House and here in our Hospice grounds, where our families and wider community can enjoy them. You can read more about our plans in this issue.
We are also looking forward to Christmas and thinking about ways that we can come together
Despite it being a very tough time for so many, COVID-19 has inspired warmth and compassion
and strengthened community ties. We are here for our community, caring for your loved ones and neighbours, and will continue to do so thanks to your support.
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.
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Hospice news
Our new Access Team
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ur new strategy for 2020 identified a need to create a single point of contact for an increasing number of referrals, requests for advice, and clinical services information. Now known as the Access Team, its launch was fast-tracked to respond
to the Covid-19 pandemic. Since April, we have responded to all urgent referrals and enquiries within 48 hours and all other referrals and enquiries within 7 days. The Access Team have managed all inpatient referrals and admissions, directed people to the most appropriate service and developed an evaluation methodology. This new model is valuable to patients, families and referrers. Referral numbers have increased and advice activity has grown exponentially.
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www.stcolumbashospice.org.uk
Speaking about the impact of the Access Team on the Hospice so far, team leader Becky Chaddock said: “The Access Team have made a real difference here, to both staff and service users alike. Having a ‘one stop shop’ of sorts allows callers to build a relationship with a member of the team, which they can carry throughout their access journey. The overall experience for everyone is faster, and crucially, more person centred.” You can contact the Access Team on 0131 551 7751
Family support
Remembrance
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lans are afoot for our song-writing for grief and loss projects, to head to Greece to work with Galilee Hospice and a local primary school. Hans from our Arts Service and Donna from our Child and Family Support Team are also working together on content for a poster for the Scottish Partnership for Palliative Care’s SPPC poster competition, ‘When words aren’t enough’, with high school pupils from East Lothian.
lease check our social media pages for updates about our Chaplaincy Team’s remembrance plans. Sadly, our Times of Remembrance and Family Remembrance Day have had to be cancelled this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, but Suzie and her team hope to host a pre-recorded service online on Sunday 1 November as well as some lovely activities which we will share with you soon. www. facebook.com/stcolumbas/
Visitor information We want to support you to keep in touch with your loved one the best we can, so by following Health Protection Scotland’s guidelines and taking appropriate precautions we have been able to offer safe visiting for limited numbers. We also have dedicated
iPads available to patients and families in our inpatient unit to support keeping in contact with friends and family regularly via Facetime or similar. As developments are announced by both the UK and Scottish Governments about the COVID pandemic,
it may be necessary for us to change visiting restrictions to help keep our patients, families, staff and visitors safe. Please check our Hospice homepage or Facebook page for news of updates to our visiting guidelines before your visit stcolumbashospice.org.uk
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When words aren’t enough Exploring grief, loss and change through art
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n January 2020 our Arts Service and Family Support Teams launched ‘When Words Aren’t Enough’, a project to support young people who had experienced significant loss, grief or change. Designed and delivered collaboratively between St Columba’s Community Artist, Hans, and Child and Family Worker, Donna, the project’s aim was to provide a safe, empathic and creative space for young people to share and explore their experiences of loss and change. The focus was the creation of artworks to give voice to young people’s individual and collective experiences of grief or loss and their memories. This would take place over a six-week programme, delivered in a safe school environment, involving group activities, peer sharing and art-making.
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A high school in East Lothian were keen to pilot a group programme and worked closely with St Columba’s to identify, prepare and support ten young people who volunteered to participate. St Columba’s delivered a training session on children and young people’s loss and grief to school staff. This was attended by around 60 staff members across departments. The group met weekly on the same day for 2 hours over six weeks. School staff recognised the importance of providing a safe and appropriate room, staff support to enable participants to be out of classes to attend… and even provided juice and doughnuts for the groups break time! The starting point for each young person was to create an expressive artwork from the empty drawer of a domestic chest of drawers. This
unremarkable item of furniture could exist in any home and its exterior gives little away about what might lie within. Like discarded mementos or items carefully locked away in the back of a drawer, painful memories and feelings can be pushed from daily consciousness and hidden from sight, sometimes causing prolonged distress. Each young person took an empty drawer and used it as a blank
canvas within which they could visually express an aspect of their loss. For some this would become a statement of personal feelings. For others it would take the form of a memorial to someone they had lost. Each young person was invited to use a variety of materials and techniques including collage, assemblage, drawing, painting, and the inclusion of personal mementos, photographs or text. The creative and cathartic process of making their artwork helped participants express, share and
process emotions and experiences. The group recognised and encouraged sharing and supported individual and collective responses and feelings. Our team would like to thank to all the young people who had the courage to take part and share their experiences. Here are photographs of their artworks, each drawer depicting a unique reflection of a young person’s experiences and memories.
I didn’t manage to finish my box the way I wanted. My box is all about my dad. It struck me that in life you don’t always get to finish and my dad’s life was like that – he finished before he was meant to.
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Our thanks to Honest Toun Team
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his summer, we were approached by Musselburgh Windsor Community Football Club who hoped to use the Hospice as ‘sponsors’ on their new kit, at no cost to ourselves. We were delighted to oblige and Johnny Brown, Team Leader of the under-16’s squad visited the Hospice with his son and Club member Daniel, to present the new strip. Johnny and Daniel met with Sandy Russell, an in-patient on our Pentland ward. Sandy, who hails from Musselburgh himself recounted his history
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with the team; for five years from 1981, Sandy was President of the Musselburgh Festival Association (known to locals as the Honest Toun’s Association), something his father too was involved in. He recalls fond memories of the locally infamous fancy dress parade, in which the Windsor Football Club would partake each year. Musselburgh Windsor Football Club, an East Lothian youth Football Club, offers coaching and match opportunities for over 400 people, catering for both boys and girls. Parents of the under-16 squad were given the opportunity to vote on which charity would be included on their new
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kit, with Johnny proclaiming that the Hospice ‘won by a landslide’. He explains ‘We appreciate the work you all do at St Columba’s and we just wanted to do a little bit to help out’. Increasing awareness of the Hospice in the communities we serve is vital to ensuring people who need our care know we exist. This is especially important now when patients are able to self-refer through our dedicated Access Team.
Patient Sandy is currently in the Hospice for specialist care which he wasn’t able to receive in an acute setting. Married to wife Nicky for 33 years, he is grateful he still gets to enjoy visits with her, despite Covid restrictions - though admits he is also happy with a cup of tea and the TV or a good book. He professes to being a ‘rugby man’ himself, but supports the home team that both his nephew and now great-niece play for. As well as rugby, Sandy has a great interest in Curling, as former President of Musselburgh Curling Club – the oldest club in the world, he proudly states – he recalls how he and his teammates would wait for the local pond to freeze over so they could partake in the sport. Prior to being referred, Sandy was unaware that short stays at the Hospice were possible, and says his experience of the Hospice so far is ‘excellent, really excellent’, comparing
the Hospice to a hotel. Around 40% of in-patients are discharged home, once symptoms relating to their illness are managed, and Sandy hopes to be able to return home to Musselburgh within the next few weeks. The St. Columba’s Hospice Care logo will feature on Musselburgh Windsor’s away kit for the next two seasons. To follow the team visit musselburghwindsorfc.co.uk.
With special thanks: Sandy Russell – an in-patient on our Pentland ward Johnny Brown – Team Leader of the under-16’s squad at Musselburgh Windsor Community Football Club Daniel Brown – Club Member and Player at Musselburgh Windsor Community Diane Ewart – Community Fundraiser at St Columba’s Hospice Care
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Community corner Thank you!
We’ve been bowled over by our supporters in our local communities during lockdown who ran a cumulative 10,000km in just two months, arranged socially distanced doorstep photo shoots, and hosted online pub quizzes. There were wacky haircuts too. A huge THANKS to every supporter and every person who donated.
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Edinburgh: The Silent City
When lockdown hit, Stuart Montgomery photographed Edinburgh’s most well-known landmarks on his daily walk to produce his book – Edinburgh: The Silent City. Proceeds from his book will go to St Columba’s Hospice Care in memory of his mother, Nancy Montgomery, a former patient of the Hospice. Edinburgh: The Silent City is available at our Canonmills Bookshop and on our website stcolumbashospice. org.uk/online-shop
Action Groups
People in our local areas fundraise in aid of the Hospice by running coffee mornings and quizzes - opportunities to raise a few vital pounds are endless! Liz Gallagher has raised over £1,800 this year alone: “I have been
fundraising for various groups and charities for years. I live in a community where everyone helps and continuously supports me. I find doing regular things like a weekly bonus ball, football cards or lucky numbers works well – all of which I couldn’t do without the help of my faithful friends. It’s amazing what you can do for so little and it’s a big help for the Hospice”.
Back to school
Now the schools are back, we’re resuming our work with the Youth and Philanthropy Initiative (YPI) in secondary schools to raise awareness of St. Columba’s Hospice Care among young people, and for the chance to win £3,000 for the Hospice. Shortly before lockdown, Reagan, Mairi, Kirstie and Anna from Beeslack High School in Penicuik, won £50 for the Hospice by getting through to the finals with their presentation on the services the Hospice offers. Thank you girls! ypiscotland.org.uk
Iain Gardner sports his blue mohawk which raised £1,228 plus Gift Aid
Willow the dog joins in the 10,000km challenge raising £1,792 plus Gift Aid
Liam’s 24 hour live stream
Land’s End to John O’Groats
Support while celebrating!
Liam Docherty took on his third 24 hour live stream challenge, raising an impressive £2,162 plus Gift Aid in memory of his uncle John. He did everything from dancing and guitar hero to leg waxing and even dying his hair blue during the 24 hour challenge.
Harry West and Fergus Haig’s fantastic cycling trip from Land’s End to John O’Groats raised an amazing total of £3,259 plus Gift Aid and included several flat tires and pesky Scottish midges! “St Columba’s Hospice has a huge value amongst our friend group and it truly was a pleasure to support them in whatever way we could.“
Make your day extra special by asking for donations instead of presents. You could pop a tin on the bar or choose our Hospice wedding favours. Whether it’s your birthday, anniversary, wedding or retirement you can help support our patients and their families.
Get Involved! Contact us to get involved! Learn more about the Hospice, or let us know your fundraising ideas. fund@stcolumbashospice.org.uk or call 0131 551 1381.
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Open for business!
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e have loved seeing you back in our shops in Portobello, Stockbridge, Ocean Terminal, Morningside & Haddington and our shop in Canonmills is bustling with book-lovers again too! You will certainly have a treat visiting our Leith Shop. Did you know it has been in the Leith community for over 35 years? This Summer it has had a lick of paint and been lovingly restored so that we can open our “emporium” doors once more to our community. We have a couple of new online ventures too! Brides by appointment is a gallery of gorgeous wedding gowns and bridesmaid dresses, with amazing discounts on RRP. All dresses are ex-samples, never worn outside a store,
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no alternations made! You can now browse our collection online and, if you see your perfect dress, you can book an appointment with our bridal expert Hazel. And did you know that we now have our own Etsy store where vintage items are sold in aid of St Columba’s by StColumbasVintage? In our online store, the very highest quality vintage clothing and accessories are carefully curated, showcased and are available to buy online. From the 1940s to the 1980s, from couture clothing to streetwear, if you love vintage fashion, you’ll find it here! All items have been donated directly to the Hospice by our supporters and 100% of the profits go directly to the charity.
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— Find out more by visiting the “Shop” area of our website.
Did you know? 82p of every £1 is spent directly on patient care with the other 18p going towards raising the next £1. stcolumbashospice.org.uk/ donate
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any things have changed throughout 2020, but our seasonal selection of sensational stocking fillers isn’t one of them! There’s something for everyone in our range of gifts and goodies. To shop the collection, head to our online shop at stcolumbashospice.org.uk/ shop. Here are a few highlights from this year’s catalogue...
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Head into 2021 organised with a handy pocketsized diary. Diary features week view and ribbon page holder. £4
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Robins in Wellies Christmas Cards Send some festive wishes to your loved ones and raise funds for the Hospice at the same time! Packs of 10 cards available now for £3.50
The must have accessory for any eco-conscious shopper, this tote-aly sustainable shopper is a bargain at just £2
Get ready for Christmas! 4
You’ll never have to make do with a basket again if you’re armed with this handy St Columba’s Hospice Care Trolley Keyring. £1
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This year’s Hospice calendar features patient artwork on every month. What’s more, each image is detachable and printed on the reverse for use as a postcard! £6 for 1, £10 for 2
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t Columba’s Hospice Care is here for our community and for those who need our support. Never before has separation, loss and bereavement affected us all so much and this is an important time for us to support each other.
Our teams have been working hard to offer support to our patients and families throughout the Coronavirus pandemic. Our Chaplaincy team regularly visits patients on our wards, listening to their stories and their worries, providing them with company and comfort. Our Counselling and Family Support teams have also been supporting our patients and families, helping them at home, over the phone and online via secure video consultations. Our website now hosts a new page of Family Support resources too, making information
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available to families, friends and carers throughout our community. These resources include advice on how to explain incurable illness to children, information on how to access support and counselling, and practical information on coping with bereavement. While this information is relevant at any time, some resources have specific information on the changes which have happened this year. As we all contend with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, feelings of grief, bereavement and loss touch many people in our wider community. We want to make these resources available to everyone who needs them.
Through your generosity so much of this is possible, but we couldn’t continue to do it without your help. We hope you are able to give what you can to our Christmas Appeal. You will find a leaflet enclosed telling you how to donate and dedicate a light in memory of someone this year. For further information or support for yourself or your family, please contact 0131 551 7751
Our Christmas Plans... Light Up a Life This Christmas, we will light up three beautiful trees in our community to remember and celebrate our loved ones. Our trees will be lit quietly this year, to be shared with our community in Charlotte Square Gardens, at Haddington House and in our Hospice grounds. For a donation of your choice, you can dedicate a light of remembrance on one of our Christmas trees. And as a thank you for your kindness we will send you a Hospice candle, which you can light at home in remembrance of your loved one, at a time of your choosing. edications can be D made throughout the festive period. You will find more information and a dedication form in the leaflet enclosed.
Our Tree of Remembrance in Charlotte Square Gardens
Our Christmas Appeal Please consider making a donation and helping us continue providing our care to the people who need us most, wherever they may be. You can do this by dedicating a light to a loved one as part of Light Up a Life, or by donating online via our website. Your support makes such a difference to the lives of the people we care for, so thank you. stcolumbashospice.org.uk
Light Up a Memory Our Light Up a Memory page will be online for those of you who wish to share your memory and a photograph of your loved one, your family, your candle alight, or a place that holds special memories for you. lightupamemory.com
stcolumbashospice.org.uk/donate
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Legacies A way of saying thank you at an unknown future date
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eaving a legacy gift to St Columba’s Hospice Care in your Will helps ensure more people receive the very best hospice care available. Here one of our volunteers shares their thoughts on leaving a legacy.
You are a volunteer in our fundraising department - and a very valued member of our team. How did you become aware of the Hospice? Through my work with another national charity I became aware of the Hospice being opened in 1977. My more personal recent experience was getting first-hand knowledge of the work of the Hospice and the care and compassion given to a friend during her final days, and in addition, the support given to relatives and visiting friends. This was a strong influence in my applying to become a volunteer. I was warmly welcomed to the team and now feel a member of the Hospice family.
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Why do you think leaving a legacy gift in your Will is important? A legacy can be seen by the charity and the donor as a sign of recognition of their belief in the value of the work. Legacy income is vital to charities. It enables them to continue their good practice and plan for the future. As one gets older, supporting charities becomes more meaningful, the more I have become involved and recognise the important role they have in society.
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How does it make you feel, knowing that your legacy will help the Hospice in the future? Making a legacy to the Hospice is in effect a long-term commitment to the charity at an unknown future date. It is saying Thank-you to the charity and acknowledging its achievement in the past, and at the same time enabling it to plan for the future with confidence.
The legacy left by Glyn, pictured with his son Gareth and daughter Mhairi, will help St Columba’s Hospice Care provide vital palliative care and support for other families.
Legacies make a real difference to the people we care for. 29% of our total income last year came from gifts in wills, allowing us to make 2,550 home visits to patients and families. For more information about making a legacy to charity, visit gov.uk.
It is lovely that you have a strong connection with St Columba’s. How do you think other people feel about giving through legacies to the charities they support now? I am sure that, like myself, many volunteers and staff know that their work is appreciated and they feel part of the St Columba’s family. For some, it may not be possible to be more actively involved, so donations/legacies are the only tangible ways to demonstrate their support. A legacy is likely to be the largest single donation that they have been able to make.
What would you say to encourage people to consider the gift of a legacy in their Will? It would be a means of demonstrating confidence in the objectives and work of the charity and a commitment which enables it to plan ahead. The majority of charities do not receive meaningful Government support and therefore rely on donations and legacies in order to provide their services to the highest professional standards.
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Supporting families in their homes W
e have all been challenged to work differently recently and think about how we can continue to support our patients and families in the community. Adapting to the current pandemic, we have taken existing expertise from our inpatient unit and community services teams and created a new Hospice at Home service.
Up and running since June 2020, the Hospice at Home service supports patients and families in the community. The aim is to enable patients to be
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cared for where they wish. We work jointly with other services and professionals to ensure the right support is provided. The team is currently being piloted until October but has already proven to be a valuable and welcome addition to our community hospice team. The team has been formed with current St Columba’s staff who have been fully involved in the development of the service. These experienced nursing staff bring a wealth of palliative skills and knowledge to the
service working as co-ordinators. Their role is to assess all new referrals, plan the daily visits, liaise closely with patients, families and other professional and support the organising of alternative services. Community care support workers (CCSWs) visit the service’s patients in their home providing practical and psychological support. The CCSWs were working previously as auxiliaries on the wards and have been able to provide support and guidance to patients and
families in their homes, which has been much needed over these challenging times. Since starting in June, the team have supported 48 patients and carried out over 500 visits, supporting palliative patients and their families at home in a variety of different ways: supporting with personal care, psychological support, symptom management and just
being there to make a cuppa if that’s what’s needed! The service has made it possible for some patients, who would otherwise have been admitted to an inpatient unit, to be cared for in their own home. Often the support they have been given by our Hospice at Home team enables carers and families to continue providing support.
developments ahead. In the coming months we will be looking at extending our support to patients and families in East Lothian. The focus of the service will be looking at how we can support patients and families with a more enabling approach, working closely with them and other services.
Looking forward, the Hospice at Home team has exciting
Complementary therapies update J
ana and I are delighted to be able to reinstate our Complementary Therapy Service within our Inpatient unit again, Monday to Friday, following the advice of our professional bodies and the Government guidelines. Adapted, shorter sessions of Reflexology, Reiki, Aromatherapy and massage are available to help provide support with pain and symptom management and aid with relaxation. This is available to all our inpatients who are
interested in therapies and they are completely tailored to each patient’s needs. Linda our hairdresser has also returned to our Inpatient unit, with appointments available to our patients again on a Tuesday. While our Therapet team and Volunteer Complementary Therapists are currently unable to visit our patients, due to current restrictions, we hope to have them all back with us again soon.
We are currently looking at ways to reach out and support our patients and families in the community with complementary therapies, through a virtual approach, and we will be communicating this as soon as this becomes available. If you have any questions or would like information about our service, please do contact us at complementarytherapy@ stcolumbashospice.org.uk
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A fortnight focusing on the arts
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Online Community Choir
Hospice On Line Art (Hola) group
Your health and wellbeing is our number one priority so this Summer we launched an online Community Choir, bring our community together in song! No experience is needed, there is no need to read music and everyone is welcome. You don’t even need to be able to ‘sing’! Sessions run for an hour, every Tuesday at 4pm via Zoom and include a fun vocal warm-up and some gentle relaxation. To take part, please email choir@ stcolumbashospice.org.uk and we will send you a link.
Our new Hospice Online Art (Hola) group started on 7th September and runs every Monday between 2:00 – 3:30pm via Zoom. The group is an invitation to play, meet with others and try things out. Participants are invited to join in with simple guided activities, bring their own ideas and skills to share or simply be there and enjoy the company. Inpatients and outpatients are most welcome and no previous art experience is required. To register your interest please contact arts@ stcolumbashospice.org.uk
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Digital arts Our supporter Leona Harris organised the donation of an iPad to our arts service. Amongst other great benefits, an iPad can facilitate people, including those with limited fine motor skills, to play music using a range of digital instruments and composition apps. It has already been a great asset to the arts team so a big thank you to Leona!
Online Art Symposium
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e are delighted to announce that on 20th October our arts team is organising an online Symposium for the arts in palliative care. This symposium will bring together a range of practitioners and scholars to re-consider what the arts can offer to people and communities when facing death, dying and loss. And that’s just the
start of our arts activities in October, with an exciting programme planned. Our Symposium will feature an online gallery of work from hospice arts projects across Scotland. Called “In the making”, it will showcase visual arts, creative writing, songs and other media. As a joint gallery with the SPPC, “In the making” will remain
live after the symposium so that visitors from the wider community can access it. This includes delegates of the SPPC Autumn Season, helping to raise awareness about the role of the arts in palliative care across Scotland. To register for one of our 50 places, please email: arts@ stcolumbashospice.org.uk
Virtual arts exhibition 21st – 30th October We would like to invite you to our first ever virtual Art Exhibition! This much-loved annual event will be online this year, so everyone, irrelevant of location will be able to attend! The exhibition is online from Wednesday 21st October until Friday 30th October and will include work from professional artists. The artists have all donated a minimum of 50% of any work sold, so each purchase will directly benefit the Hospice. With work from over 40 artists, and the return of our MINI exhibition of original artwork, there will be something to suit all budgets.
All MINI artworks are an A5 size original piece of work by one of our participating artists – but each artwork is signed on the back instead of the front. You won’t know who the artist is until you have purchased it.
MINI artworks cost only £50 and the full amount is donated to the Hospice. The exhibition will be online at stcolumbashospice.org. uk/fundraise from the 21st October.
With kind support from:
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ou may remember reading a little bit about our playground space in the last edition of LIFE? At that point of time, we were planning on having the playground space installed and completed by June – and then COVID-19 happened! We are delighted to report that building work is now complete!
Space to W
e are very grateful to the Trustees of SPIFOX and the Morrisons Foundation who agreed to fund the project and enabled it to go ahead. Why build a playground in the Hospice grounds? Apart from the fact that it is always lovely to hear children laughing when they are playing, we do have other reasons. We know that the whole family can be affected by bereavement, and one of the hardest things about illness is speaking to family and friends about it.
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We hope that any children visiting the Hospice will be able to use the play areas. It will allow them to play and express themselves and have an outlet for their emotions through play, but also parents/carers family members who are patients who can watch the children at play and feel joy from this as well. We have a dedicated Children & Family Support worker here at the Hospice, and to date we have supported 75 families and over 100 children since it began in 2018.
Children experience grief differently to adults, and adults often underestimate their ability to deal with the truth. Children are naturally good at dipping in and out of their grief. They can be intensely sad one minute and then suddenly switch to playing happily the next.
This ‘puddle-jumping’ in and out of grief behaviour is a type of inbuilt safety mechanism that stops them being overwhelmed by powerful feelings. Play is simply having fun- a spontaneous activity and normally part of their everyday lives. Having a play space at the Hospice will help promote that continuity of normal family life. The playground space will also provide the opportunity for shared time within the family. Shared time in the play space can be a time when the pressure of grief is relieved and might be a
time when the child opens up and shares thoughts and feelings. The playground will also be great for visiting families or children using our community café at the Hospice. We have had to ‘mooove’ Thistle the cow to make a space for the playground but we will find a special place for her! Here are a few photographs of our playground taking shape….
play www.stcolumbashospice.org.uk
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t Columba’s Hospice Care believes that hospice is less about ‘being seen as a building’ than it is ‘a way of being with and caring for people’ and that good palliative and end of life care is possible beyond our walls when people are informed, educated and feel well supported.
Compassionate So it’s important that we ask the questions: → W hen people are dealing with death, dying, loss and bereavement, what is important to them? → Are there barriers in the way of what’s important and if so, how can we work together to remove them? → How can we better equip our communities to be ready to support each other through difficult times? The answers lie in working closely and in partnership with the people we serve across Edinburgh and East Lothian.
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In July of this year, Lynn Darke and Maggie Young began the work of developing a Compassionate Communities Team committed to engaging in healthy conversations about death, dying grief and loss, and supporting communities to care in meaningful and practical ways for those living, dying and grieving in their midst. Combining a wealth of experience gained during their years of working for St Columba’s Hospice Care (Lynn as a community-based Clinical Nurse Specialist, and Maggie as Deputy Volunteer Services Manager) they will
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focus initially on shaping a community-based, volunteer-led ‘Compassionate Neighbours’ project aimed at supporting individuals and those caring for them, who live with the impact of a life-limiting illness. This might include visiting regularly and being a listening ear, enjoying shared interests, assistance with shopping trips or collecting medications, light housework or gardening, walking the dog, giving a family member a break from the house, and helping people to continue doing the things that they love. The team is open to creative ideas and
suggestions, bearing in mind that much of what may be possible in the future is currently limited by a requirement to adhere to the current Covid-19 restrictions. The ‘Compassionate Neighbours’ project is the first step towards creating meaningful connections between neighbourhoods, and is an expression of the values that reflect what it means to be a compassionate community.
“It’s vital that we recognise the importance of families, friends and communities working alongside formal services, if we are to build resilience and capacity in the face of death, grief and loss. These are experiences we all share and which in times past were frequently held, acknowledged and supported by networks of community ties and relationships that are
often found lacking today. For many of us, knowing how to talk about these things, and how best to care for ourselves or others as we accompany them through their grief and losses, is something that simply doesn’t get talked about.” — Lynn, Compassionate Communities Lead
communities In time, our hope is to create and grow a network of communitybased volunteers trained and capable of offering the kind of informal, and practical support that helps people stay connected to their family, friends and community. — Maggie, Compassionate Neighbours Lead
Healthy and supportive conversations about death and dying, grief and loss help foster compassion and build resilience. In this way individuals and communities become better equipped to offer a compassionate space for others. We will do this using a community development approach that values and enables networks of meaningful connection and collaborative working by:
→ Supporting individuals and local communities to engage with death as a social process → Helping re-shape attitudes and behaviours towards deteriorating health, dying and bereavement → B uilding communityowned capacity with dying, death, grief and loss The work streams that emerge will reflect a shared commitment to building the capacity needed to help each other during times of increased health need, loss, and bereavement.
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We are so grateful for the support we have continued to receive from our supporters in workplaces and companies particularly throughout the last few months...
Corporate corner I
n these extraordinary times we have been working hard to develop our services with the compassion and quality you know, whilst adapting to provide care in new and inclusive ways to reach those who need it most, wherever they are in our community. A big thank you to Independent Assessment Services who have raised an amazing ÂŁ3511.34 for us by completing the 2.6 challenge and also their own challenge of walking 1000 miles in the month of July. Many thanks to John Lewis for donating rucksacks and the team at Amazon for donating mobile phones for our Hospice at Home team to use whilst caring for patients out in the community.
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We have all been doing our bit to ensure that important social distancing guidelines are followed so sadly, our much loved Dragon Boat Challenge has had to be postponed until 2021. Undeterred, we held our first ever 7 Hills virtual challenge! Teams and individuals competed to climb all 7 volcanic hills which border Edinburgh city centre. We were blown away with the fantastic response and our participants raised over ÂŁ16,980 for the Hospice, with prizes awarded for fastest time, best photograph and most money raised. Our corporate supporters come up with all sorts of innovative ways to fundraise for us, Art &Craft collective held a virtual exhibition for artist
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Kyle from Amazon delivers Iphones to the Hospice
Departments from across the Hospice benefited from a ÂŁ1000 product donation
Ian Pearsall, and 20% of their sales were donated to the Hospice. Our Charity of the Year partners at Scottish Gas played Fluffy Bunnies as part of their 2.6 challenge where they attempted to fit 26 or more marshmallows in their mouths as well as Top or Toe which involved putting 26 tops or 26 socks on and sharing the photos!
The fantastic team at Fleming Howden generously donated two pallets of mixed products for our kitchen, hugely appreciated by the team. Many thanks to all the companies who very generously donated to us over lockdown Womble Bond Dickinson (UK) LLP £1250, Mackenzie Hughes £1000, IBM £2000, Parabola Real Estate Investment Management £1000,
We were delighted that Amazon selected St. Columba’s Hospice Care for a £1000 product donation and this was used to support our Child Bereavement Services, Our Art Therapy, Hospice at Home Team and Hospice Kitchen.
Get involved! If your company or workplace would like to know more about a partnership with the Hospice please get in touch with Amanda Southey (asouthey@stcolumbashospice.org.uk).
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Annual Walk to Remember
Roz & Stodds’ Super Cycle
We couldn’t hold our normal Walk to Remember this year, but that didn’t stop over 21 teams raising a phenomenal £17,414 as part of our brand new Virtual Walk to Remember.
Inspired by our Celtic Challenge, which was sadly cancelled this year, Anthony & Roz took matters into their own hands. They cycled the route from Iona to Boswall Road and raised over £9,689 including gift aid for the Hospice!
Pet Show Everyone went barking mad for our first ever virtual Pet Show, making a Facebook sensation of Douglas, hard at work on his owner’s PC.
Virtual events 2.6 Challenge In April we took part in the 2.6 Challenge, encouraging our supporters to raise funds in any way they wanted, based on the theme ‘2.6’. The diversity of entries we received ranged from a delicious 26 tray bakes to a dizzying 2600 jumps on a pogo stick! Well done to everyone who went that extra mile for hospice care! 29
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Garden Show How does your garden grow? Our supporters showed off their perfect blooms and home grown produce online, evidence of their lockdown labour of love.
Virtual Pub Quiz! Join us online at 7pm on Thursday 26 November for our festive St Columba’s Hospice Home Pub Quiz. Christmas jumpers, antlers and festive baubles optional! The Quiz will be hosted on Zoom by our virtual Quizmaster, Goose’s Quizzes. Prizes available for the best team name and the winning team!
To enter: All you need is a laptop, tablet or phone with access to the internet and Zoom.us downloaded and installed: 1 – Register by going to www.stcolumbas. safeandsecurewebservices.net/donate or calling 0131 551 1381 2 – Scroll down and make a donation of your choice 3 – In the ‘Anything else' box, use the reference “Christmas Pub Quiz 2020” and state your team name 4 – A Zoom link will be sent out on the morning of Thursday 26 November
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Keep in touch with us online for our latest news: www.stcolumbashospice.org.uk
facebook.com/stcolumbas
@StColumbas @st.columbas.hospice
→ St Columba’s Hospice Care 15 Boswall Road Edinburgh EH5 3RW T: 0131 551 1381 E: fund@stcolumbashospice.org.uk — Copyright © 2020 St Columba’s Hospice. All rights reserved. Registered in Scotland N° 48700. Charity N° SC003634 On the cover: Johnny and Daniel Brown from Musselburgh Windsor Community FC Design: monumentum.co.uk — If you would like to receive your edition of Life via email rather than post, please let us know by contacting fund@stcolumbashospice.org.uk