It is with sadness that we share the news that one of the driving forces behind the creation of Saint Francis Hospice has died.

Joan Matthews, 93,  died peacefully at her beloved hospice on Monday 22nd April. She had been unwell in Southend Hospital since February and was transferred to our inpatient unit so that she could end her life in the place she had done so much to nurture.

Joan first saw the need for better provision of care for those with a terminal illness through her work at Havering Community Health Council in the 1970s. Having identified the need for a hospice in the area she was one of the foremost enthusiasts in raising public awareness of this need and instrumental in establishing the fundraising groups across Havering and surrounding areas to generate the finances necessary for its development.

Joan recalled a meeting in 1977: “Peter Smith and I had a meeting at Dr Dorothy Rule’s flat in Hornchurch to talk about registering as a charity so that we could start fundraising. When we finished the meeting we dipped into our purses and each put a £5 note on the table. It was significant because those were the first actual funds collected.”

The fundraising group with Joan Matthews as Secretary generated the money so an offer could be made to buy Havering Hall, a site that Joan helped identify in 1978 as a suitable location. Then £350,000 was raised for building work to begin in 1982. For Joan one of the most exciting things was seeing the new fittings as she recalled in 2008: “It was the personal things like the new baths that suddenly brought the hospice to life for me. It started to feel like Saint Francis would soon be accommodating real people with everyday needs”. One of the proudest moments in Joan’s life came when the inpatient unit at the hospice, built in the grounds of Havering Hall, opened in July 1984.

Joan Matthews together with Stuart Furness and Dr Richard Beaver signing the building contract in front of Havering Hall in June 1982

Voluntary Services Manager Gill Wendelken, who has worked at the hospice since 1983, remembers what an inspirational person Joan was: “She captivated everyone she spoke to about the hospice, whether it was to a group or an individual, because of her determination to share the value of palliative care with us all”.

Over the years Joan worked tirelessly to see Saint Francis Hospice grow into one of the largest hospices in the UK. Today every year more than 3,000 people from the boroughs of Havering, Barking and Dagenham, Redbridge and Brentwood receive care and support from the hospice. From 1988 until 2011 Joan was a volunteer chaplain’s assistant, which involved regularly visiting patients. The badge she wore summed up her modesty it read simply ‘Joan – Volunteer’. In 2007 Joan received a prestigious Order of Mercy award from the League of Mercy Foundation for her care for the sick, the elderly and the dying.

Joan oversaw many changes and was on the Board of Trustees from 1978 until 2011 when she became the hospice’s only “Founder Trustee”. Among the changes she witnessed was the opening of the hospice’s Pepperell Education Centre 2008, something very much in keeping with Joan’s thinking as she explained prior to its opening: “The hospice building is a lovely building but it’s only a building. People are what’s important and there are lots of seriously ill people who are still not getting the standard of care that they deserve. That’s why we must continue to reach out to those who want to be cared for in their own homes and train medical staff from outside the hospice. Our own doctors and nurses can’t possibly treat everyone, but they can share their skills to raise the standard of specialist care available to all local people with a life-limiting illness.”

Right until the end Joan cared passionately about the hospice. Sheena Rendell, a long–time colleague and today PA to the Hospice’s Chief Executive Pam Court, visited Joan in her final hours and even then her fighting spirit and passion for the hospice shone through. “She had lots of questions about the hospice and was keen that I updated her on all the latest developments” said Sheena.

Pam Court said: “Without Joan there wouldn’t be a Saint Francis Hospice. She was a tremendous supporter for all that we did, but was also a stern critic if she felt we could do more or better. Joan really believed that we should do more in the community and I’m pleased that the new vision we have for our community services fits with her view that hospices should be caring for those with a life-limiting illness where they wish to be looked after. She wanted to die at her home in Southend but when that proved impossible her second preference was to come to our hospice and I’m so pleased we were able to help her spend her final moments with us.”