About Saint Francis Hospice
Saint Francis Hospice opened in 1984 and has and continues to give care and support, free of charge, to many thousands of local people.
The “Hospice at Home” service was introduced in 2001 and provides hands on nursing care for patients who would prefer to remain in their own homes for the last few days of their life. This service compliments the work already carried out by the Hospice’s Community Palliative Care Team and that of the district nurses and local GP’s.
Here at Saint Francis Hospice we’re deeply committed to getting our message over clearly, concisely and passionately so that everyone understands what we do and nobody who needs it misses out on the quality treatment, care and support that we can provide them free of charge.
It’s a tragedy every time someone suffers avoidably, but the sad reality is that many people do not turn to the hospice because they do not understand that we can help them or they’re simply too afraid to seek a referral. The affect can be devastating not only on their lives but also those of their family and friends.
The Hospice is able to offer care to around 1,800 people annually. In addition to the direct clinical services that we provide, we also share our skills to improve the standard of care available to all local people affected by life limiting illnesses. Our state of the art Education Centre, which was opened in 2008, is used not only to update the skills of our own staff, but also those of the Doctors, Nurses and Social Workers in hospitals, surgeries and care homes throughout the local area.
Donations go towards high quality in-patient care; visits to seriously ill patients in their homes; or bereavement counselling for families (including young children) and when broken down look like this:
£40 covers the cost of a one hour visit from our Hospice at Home team
£210 covers the cost of a patient attending our Day Hospice
£500 will provide a day of specialist, intensive care in our In-Patient Unit
£2,000 keeps one of our four bedded wards running for 24 hours
The running costs for all hospice services this year are £6.5 million of which about 40% is funded by local health authorities.
The balance must be raised in the community through voluntary donations, fundraisaing events and the Hospice’s 16 charity shops. This is an increasingly daunting task, which must be achieved each year to make sure the Hospice is able to continue to provide such essential services to those in the community that so desparately need care and support.
Our history
Saint Francis Hospice opened in 1984 and has and continues to give care and support, free of charge, to many thousands of local people. We are a leading provider of palliative care for people living in Havering, Brentwood, Redbridge, Barking & Dagenham and we care for people from 18 years of age, of any race or religion, who have a life limiting illness due to cancer, heart disease, motor neurone disease or respiratory disease. We also provide physical, spiritual and emotional care and support to patients and their families.
The aim of the hospice is to relieve pain in all its forms, whether it is physical, social, emotional or spiritual.
The whole hospice team comprising medical and nursing staff, physiotherapists, social workers, occupational therapists, chaplaincy team and an extensive team of volunteers, work together to help patients achieve the best quality of life possible, however long that life may be.