Hospice News Spring 2023

Welcome to your latest Hospice News

I'm Helen, and I've recently become Chair of Trustees here at the Hospice. My connection to the Hospice began 36 years ago when I came back home to Bristol to start working as a Ward Sister at the Bristol Oncology Centre.

During this time I started a Care of the Dying Course at the Hospice, which had a significant impact on my future career thanks to the amazing course. The course gave me the confidence and self-belief that I could go on to complete a diploma, degree and Masters, which opened up many career opportunities to me. I am forever grateful to the Hospice for this.

Like so many other people, friends and colleagues of mine have benefited hugely from the variety of Hospice services available, and importantly from the compassionate care and kindness given by all the staff.

I am proud to now be the Chair of Trustees at St Peter’s and of the work they do each and every day. None of which would be possible without the wonderful members of staff, volunteers and supporters. Thank you for all you do and I hope you enjoy reading this Hospice News.

Helen Morgan Chair of Trustees

Enquiries: 0117 915 9400 24/7 Clinical Advice Line: 0117 915 9430

stpetershospice.org

Registered Charity No. 269177

Nurse-led prescribing

We now have a number of nurses within our community teams who can prescribe drugs directly to patients, leading the way in nurse-led prescribing.

The training for this began three years ago and we now have eight prescribers across our Hospice at Home and Community Nurse Specialist teams, with two more due to qualify in the summer.

This process not only empowers our nurses, but also speeds up the process for families to receive the medication they need at the end of life.

Julie and Karen, two of our nurses, tell us more about nurse prescribing and how it has transformed their work with patients.

Julie

“I’ve been prescribing since I completed the course in 2019. Nurse prescribing has been taking place since the early 2000s, but a change in regulation in 2012 meant that drugs often used in palliative care could also now be prescribed by nurses, not just doctors.

“As palliative care nurses, it means we are prescribing within our specialism.

Our palliative care knowledge is often greater than that of a GP, and previously we would advise the GP of the best medication for a patient. They then had to actually issue the prescription which could take time and cause delays.

“The main benefit to patients is the speed at which we can now get them the drugs they need. I can now write a prescription, check which pharmacy carries the drugs required, and get them to the patient much quicker. This means getting on top of pain and symptom control much faster, and it can even stop a patient from ending up in hospital.

“The sooner we can ease their distress and pain, the less likely they are to phone an ambulance because they cannot cope. By prescribing, we can support the NHS and GPs who are under pressure. We can take a job off them and support our fellow health care professionals.

“I’m now a mentor to other nurses within the Hospice who are taking the course. It’s really rewarding to help develop people.”

Karen

“I’m currently doing the course with UWE. I wanted to do it to learn more about how medications affect our bodies and how our bodies affect medications, including the ones we frequently use. I also want to improve patient care by reducing delays in accessing prescriptions for important drugs, especially at the end of life.

“The end of life care I can provide to patients after completing this course will be improved as I’ll be able to prescribe what we call ‘Just In Case’ medication quickly. In turn, this will increase my job satisfaction as patient care will be improved.

“Life-long learning is an important part of nursing – continuing to develop knowledge and skills is vital to keep patient care up to date and safe.”

“The main benefit to patients is the speed at which we can now get the drugs they need to them, getting on top of pain and symptom control much faster.”

Karen and Julie

Complementary Therapy at the Hospice

We’re proud of the holistic care we’re able to offer our patients and families at the Hospice. An important part of this is the role our Complementary Therapists play in providing treatments on the Inpatient Unit.

“I feel privileged to be able to offer treatments to patients and bring them comfort whilst they are receiving complementary therapy.”

Claire and

Melanie

Therapists Melanie and Claire tell us about what working at the Hospice means to them. They offer a range of treatments including massage, reflexology, reiki and aromatherapy.

Melanie is the Complementary Therapy Co-ordinator at the Hospice.

“I have always wanted to be in a job that involves bringing some kind of positivity to people’s lives. I've been an employee here at the Hospice since 2019, and before that I volunteered as a Complementary Therapist for two years.

“I studied Clinical Aromatherapy at St Thomas' Hospital in London, which gave me the knowledge and insight into how natural therapies can benefit palliative care. This opened a new world to me and my passion was driven towards wanting to use my skills for those who need it the most.

“We liaise with staff in the Inpatient Unit to determine if patients are suitable for receiving complementary therapy. We initially offer patients a gentle hand massage, and then make an individual treatment plan tailored to their specific needs. Our aim is to meet patients’ needs and requests and be available for them if they choose to incorporate complementary therapy into their care.

“We also work alongside occupational, physio and assistant therapists offering ‘dual treatments’, combining massage with guided relaxation. We also participate in the mindfulness groups which run on a weekly basis.

“We recruit and support a team of volunteers who provide some of the treatments. We ensure that they have the necessary qualifications and experience before they join the Hospice, as well as being suited to working within a palliative care setting.

“It's a pleasure to work in an environment where every member of staff has a caring and kind nature and all of whom go above and beyond for patients.

“I feel privileged to be able to offer treatments to patients and bring them comfort and at least some kind of enjoyment and relaxation even if for a brief time whilst they are receiving complementary therapy.”

Complementary Therapy Assistant Claire has worked at the Hospice since October 2022.

“Since qualifying as a Massage Therapist back in 2007 I have always wanted to practice in a hospice setting. I am so completely grateful for this opportunity.

“It’s very rewarding to receive the genuine gratitude from the patients I treat. I have met some wonderful people so far and I know I will continue to do so.”

So many of you have supported St Peter’s Hospice over the last year and we want to say a massive

A year in review thank you

Over 2,000 of you joined us at one of our events. You walked, ran, cycled, and abseiled, all to help us give the best patient care.

Nearly 10,000 of you bought a lottery or raffle ticket

Just under half a million bags of donations were given to our charity shops

We hugely appreciate the continued generosity of all our supporters, donors, and volunteers, especially during these difficult times. Your support means we can continue to be there to provide care and support for patients and their families when they need it most.

Knitivity stars

11 years ago, a group of extremely talented St Peter’s Hospice supporters teamed up to knit a life-size nativity scene, and the Knitivity was born! Every December, the donkey, camel, and their friends awaken and travel to The Mall at Cribbs Causeway, where a wonderful group of volunteers give up their time to collect funds for the Hospice from the generous public over the Christmas period.

The Knitivity raised more than £19,000 in 2022, bringing the total raised across its lifetime to over £220,000! A huge thank you to everyone involved, and for those who gave what they could to raise vital funds for patient and family care.

Christmas Tree Collection

Our annual Christmas Tree Collection has just completed its third year, raising over £20,000!

More than 1,200 trees were collected in early January from residents in 11 postcodes across Bristol, North Somerset, and South Gloucestershire

by a hard-working team of volunteers –and all recycled locally. A special thank you to sponsor ETM Recycling, our volunteer drivers, and teams of arborists, without whom this activity wouldn’t be possible.

We were also delighted to receive some fantastic national television coverage on BBC and ITV – a wonderful bonus and spotlight on both the collection and the Hospice’s work.

“It’s wonderful to be able to help the Hospice raise funds with the Christmas Tree Collection,” said volunteer Ron. “The collection is supported by so many Bristol businesses and volunteers.”

Dates for the diary

The Great Bristol Run takes place in Bristol on Sunday 14 May.

Choose from the 10k or Half Marathon and make your miles count for St Peter’s Hospice – or help us marshal the event and cheer our runners on!

Visit greatrun.org/events/greatbristol-run to enter the event or email fundraisingvolunteer@stpetershospice. org if you would like to be a marshal.

Find

Thank you

Other ways to support us

There are so many ways to support St Peter’s Hospice, from making a regular donation or playing our Local Lottery, to volunteering at an event or hosting your own! stpetershospice.org/support-us community@stpetershospice.org 01275 391400

We’re always here for a friendly chat!

stpetershospice.org/events Hospice News 10 stpetershospice.org/events

Furniture Collection

Did you know that we offer a free furniture collection service in Bristol?

No matter the size or type of furniture, whether you want to donate a desk, fridge, or bookcase – we make it easy to do so from your doorstep. Just ensure your items are in a saleable condition and soft furnishings have fire labels attached, and you’re ready to book your collection!

Our new, fast booking system allows you to arrange free collection for your preloved furniture at a time and date that suits you. Your items can be picked up from your doorstep and then sold in our furniture shops to raise vital funds to support patients and their families being supported by the Hospice.

This great new scheme is useful for donating larger items that you might otherwise find difficult to transport to a charity shop, such as sofas and wardrobes.

Head to stpetershospice.org/ furniturecollection to get started.

High value donations

Do you have something unusual to donate to us?

Or an item that you think might be worth quite a bit of money? When you donate to any of our shops or use our house clearance service, we make sure your items achieve the most they can for the Hospice.

Here’s how that happens…

You donate your item to our shops or use our house clearance service

Our shop staff and inhouse experts identify any items that potentially have a high value

The item is taken to our warehouse in Avonmouth, where our expert team are based

Your item is researched and valued

We select the best place to sell your item, this could be online via ebay or Depop or through a local auction house

Items are dispatched from Avonmouth with 100% of proceeds going towards patient care

Franklin Mint Star Trek £771

18ct Gold Pocket Watch £560

Queen autographs £1,500

Tangerine Whitefriar vase £1,115

German Doll £3,000

Cycling for a loved one

Hundreds of people have already signed up to take part in Tour de Bristol this April and Denise from Westbury on Trym is one of them. It’s a challenging cycle ride that raises a large amount of money for the Hospice. Here, Denise tells us why taking part in memory of her husband Marc, is so important to her.

This April, Denise will be cycling 40k as part of the Hospice’s Tour de Bristol cycle challenge. Amazingly, she’s doing it alongside around 20 family and friends, all of whom are riding in memory of Denise’s husband, Marc who received care from the Hospice when he was diagnosed with a brain tumour.

Denise said: “Before he became ill, Marc had raised money for the Hospice running full and half marathons. This is the year that Marc would have turned sixty, and it will also be five years since he died, so I wanted to do something special in memory of him. I sent out the invite for Tour de Bristol to friends from school, university and locally, as well as family, and the uptake has been fantastic. Some of my team are seeing it as a fitness challenge and a couple are keen cyclists, but most of us will be dollying along trying to make sure that no one does anything silly.”

Marc was 54 when, completely out of the blue, he was diagnosed with

a grade 4 glioblastoma tumour. He attended the Day Hospice at Brentry and towards the end of his life, our Hospice at Home nurses played a supportive role in his care.

Denise also received counselling at the Hospice, something we provide after a family member has died. “A year after Marc died I realised that I was struggling. I discovered that I could have counselling through the Hospice. It was brilliant because I didn’t know it was what I needed at the time, but it was a great help.”

You can join Denise in riding in memory of a loved one, for fun and fresh air, or to smash a personal goal. Cyclists of all abilities are catered for with routes covering distances of 40k, 65k and 100k. Sign up at tourdebristol.co.uk

What volunteering means to me

For Rich, a volunteer in our Totterdown shop, being a part of the retail team has had a hugely positive impact on his life.

Not only does he enjoy feeling he’s supporting the Hospice but personally he says it has offered the chance to “form amazing friendships and has really expanded my life”. Since joining St Peter’s Hospice as a volunteer eight years ago, Rich tells us “I’ve got my self-confidence and self-worth back, I feel like part of a team and we’re supportive of each other”.

Volunteering has helped Rich to build new skills and overcome challenges in a safe and trustworthy environment. Recently, he put himself out of his comfort zone once more by taking part in a marketing campaign for St Peter’s, wishing to share his experience and promote the value of volunteering to others.

When asked what he would say to somebody thinking of volunteering Rich tell us, “They should do it. It opens an opportunity to get out of the house if they’re in a situation where they feel lonely. It's a way to meet people, whilst also knowing you’re contributing to your local community. Everyone has their own reason for being here, and everyone can get something out of it.”

To find out more about volunteering, visit stpetershospice.org/volunteer

“Volunteering has helped me out of my comfort zone and I've gained my self-confidence back.”

All in a day’s work on our Inpatient Unit

Deb, one of our Senior Registered Nurses, explains to us why it’s a privilege to work on the Unit.

“I’ve worked at St Peter’s Hospice for 11 years, having previously worked at Frenchay Hospital. I’ve worked as a palliative care nurse for 16 years now. One of the things I like most about working here is that I can do my job properly. Our staff to patient ratios are good and our single rooms provide respect and privacy for our patients.

“We really make a difference to our patients’ quality of life through symptom management and help them make the most of the time they’ve got left.

“The Hospice is a lovely environment. It’s clean, bright and has a nice ambience. It’s a happy place, it’s not doom and gloom. We all work as a team, not just within the Inpatient Unit, but with the multi-disciplinary teams across the Hospice who provide services such as social work, physio and counselling.

“My shifts can be varied, but always start with a handover from the night staff to the day staff. Sometimes I’m in charge of the Inpatient Unit. This involves allocating patient to staff ratios, dealing with

admissions, doing the ward round with the doctors, and anything else that has happened overnight that is urgent and needs dealing with.

“I make sure the staff on the unit are supported, carry out a drug count and manage the reception handover. I’m the liaison point, and make sure the whole shift is running well. Any issues come to me.

“My priority is our patients and making sure they are comfortable, and their symptoms are managed. I find out from the patient what they want and need, and discuss when they need personal care help. I make sure that any medical needs are also attended to such as doing medication rounds, dressings, blood tests and drains and touch base with the doctors when needed. My shifts go quickly, and no two are the same.

“What I love is that we can go above and beyond for our patients. We can do extra things for them and can really take into account how they want to be cared for. We can also arrange special times for our patients and their families. We have organised cinema days with popcorn in our family rooms, sleepovers for children to stay over, animals coming into visit and

even weddings. We pull out all the stops to make memories for patients and their friends and families.

“I feel privileged to work here, and to be part of the journey with the patient and their family. When I’ve seen a patient and their family through from admission to death, I feel I’ve done a good job of facilitating the end of their life and being there for them. The death will be remembered by the family forever, so we want it to be remembered as the best death it could have been.”

“We really make a difference to our patients’ quality of life through symptom management and help them make the most of the time they’ve got left.”

What does the Hospice mean to you?

The start of spring is beginning to appear at the Hospice gardens. To celebrate, here are some flowers for you or your children to colour in.

We’d love to see your artwork and hear what the Hospice means to you.

Colour in this page, take a photo, upload to social media.

Tag in @stpetershospice on Facebook or Instagram.

We’ll share as many as we can!

Leave a legacy

Gifts in Wills are, and always will be, vital to our work.

These kind and thoughtful gifts played a big part in enabling us to build our brand-new Inpatient Unit in 2018, providing state-of-the-art private rooms and facilities to our patients. Gifts in Wills also gave us financial security during the 2020 pandemic, making it possible for us to continue delivering care during the most difficult period we've ever faced. Money left to St Peter’s Hospice in Wills pays for the entire care costs of one out of every four local people we support.

March is Free Wills Month in the UK. St Peter’s Hospice have partnered with Farewill to offer free Wills to our supporters. You can create a Will online or over the telephone without any solicitor fees and no obligation to leave a gift to the Hospice.

Once your loved ones are provided for however, we hope you will consider remembering St Peter's Hospice in your Will. A gift of any size could make all the difference in keeping Hospice services running for local patients and families across Bristol and beyond in the years ahead.

Pledging your own gift to St Peter’s Hospice in your Will

You may wish to include St Peter’s Hospice in your own Will.

By choosing to leave a gift to the Hospice you can be sure your generosity will help provide vital care for patients and their families, supporting them and giving comfort through the most difficult of times.

Please contact Matthew or Rosalind from the Gifts in Wills team at legacy@stpetershospice.org or 01275 391 400

What the Hospice means to me

Louisa

"I wanted to work somewhere where your contribution isn't only recognised, you really understand how you make a difference to the patients and families we care for."

Retail Area

Manager