All the things you wanted to know about St Catherine's.

Palliative Care is the total care offered to patients suffering from diseases that have reached the stage where they are treatable but not curable. It is about quality of life and the alleviation of distressing symptoms within the framework of a co-ordinated service.

Palliative Care seeks, primarily, to neither hasten nor postpone death. It provides relief from pain and other distressing symptoms and integrates the psychological and spiritual aspects of care.

In addition it offers a support system to patients and relatives during the patient's illness and in bereavement.

The essence of Hospice care is improvement in the quality of life. This is achieved by the relief of pain and distress by specialised medical and nursing care and the provision of social, emotional and spiritual support for the patients and their carers. The uniqueness of each individual is acknowledged and their own needs identified. The care is implemented according to these needs. The period of care extends from the first contact and for as long as is necessary. All the statements of policy are aimed at providing the best possible care to encourage security, maintain dignity and enable each one to find peace.

The service which best conforms to this philosophy involves a balance of support and care - at home, in day care and in-patient care. Each of these components is provided by St. Catherine's and it is essential for the service to be considered as a whole so that a flexible response appropriate to each patient's needs and family situation can be provided.

The staff, both in the Hospice and in the community, work in close co-operation with all health services and personnel in the surrounding area and therefore an important feature of Hospice care is educating and training.

Care is given unconditionally to those who need it irrespective of age, sex, race, religious belief, or sexual orientation and is without charge. The area served is primarily, but not exclusively, Preston, Chorley, South Ribble and Longridge.

St Catherine's Hospice stands on what was probably the site of the original 13th century Lostock Hall which was built by James de Lostock who was recorded as living there in the year 1212. That original building was destroyed by fire but it seems certain that parts of the present old house date back to at least 1764 by which date the Hall has been rebuilt by William Clayton Esq. ("banker of Preston").

The Hall was inherited by George Clayton who lived there with his wife Dolly, until his death aged 86 in 1829. It then passed to George's second son, William, until he moved to the South of England in 1847.

There followed a succession of owners including: Robert Orrell Esq. (cotton spinner and manufacturer, Cuerden Mills) 1847-61; John Bashall Esq. (cotton manufacturer, Lostock Hall), 1861-71 and Robert Jackson 1871-81.

In 1881, the Hall was purchased by Harry Dewhurst of Messrs Geo & R. Dewhurst (founders of the "Silko" cotton thread works) who continued to live there until 1918.

Harry Dewurst relocated to Cheshire after World War 1, and gave the Hall, along with its 6 ½ acres of grounds, to the then Preston Royal Infirmary for use as a continuation hospital. It was formally opened as Lostock Hall Continuation Hospital for women and children in June 1922, and continued in that role for 60 years until it was closed in 1982 when the Lancashire Area Health Authority ceased to exist.

In November 1981, Mrs Kitty Sharples and the other founder Trustees had formally established St. Catherine's Hospice (Lancashire) Limited, and had started to raise funds and to search for suitable premises for a hospice to serve Preston, Chorley and South Ribble. The Lostock Hall site, which is in the geographic centre of the three Boroughs, was an ideal location and the Trustees purchased the recently vacated house and grounds from the NHS.

Necessary building modifications and renovation were carried out during 1983/4 as funds permitted. The first Hospice service was begun in 1984 with the appointment of a Home Care Sister, and the first Hospice activity within the old house was the opening of Day Care on 29 April 1985 - the feast of St. Catherine of Siena after whom the Hospice was named. In-patient facilities for up to 12 patients opened on 8th July 1985.

WITHIN six years, that original in-patients capacity was found to be insufficient, and the first of the modern building extensions - to provide an extra 6-8 beds - was opened by Diana, Princess of Wales, in January 1993.

In June 1997, building work started on the second major extension which was designed to enable Day Care capacity to be increased to up to 20 patients per day and to provide facilities for therapy and rehabilitation services, together with clinical and administrative offices and an enlarged education unit. This extension was opened by the Hospice President, Dr. Raymond Consiglio, in June 1998.

The design of this new building extension has been very highly praised for the way in which it blends with and compliments the old house. It is a fitting tribute to Ken Latham, who has been the architect for the Hospice ever since its inception, that this building has received a Certificate of Merit from the Preston and South Ribble Civic Trust.

Over the years St. Catherine's has grown and developed in response to the needs of the community it serves.

The terrific support we have received in the past has enabled us to fund a £750,000 extension for more in-patient bed spaces in 1992 and a £1.3 million extension for increased Day Care and other services in 1998. (£360,000 was donated to this project by the National Lottery Charity Board). Due to our heavy dependency on voluntary giving we have a reserve policy which states that we should have between 6 and 12 months budgeted running costs in reserve.

However, as the Hospice is a 'living' organisation the Trustees are always looking at how it can best develop to help to improve the range of care available to the community. Any future development, however, will be dependent on our ability to fund and sustain projects on a long-term basis.

St. Catherine's Hospice (Lancashire) Ltd is a registered charity (no. 512186) and a company limited by guarantee. The company consists of approximately 200 members who elect a Council of 12 trustees. This body has overall responsibility for the Hospice including its ethos and philosophy.

The trustees delegate the day to day management of the Hospice to the management team headed up by our Chief Executive, Stephen Greenhalgh. The team also includes Mr Jimmy Brash (Head of Care), Mr John Nickson (Director of Development)

For 2008/9 our running costs were £3.9 million. Of this we received approximately 30% from the N.H.S.

This means that we have to raise nearly £3 million (hopefully!) from the people of Chorley, Preston and South Ribble.

It costs over £7.40 a minute  to run St Catherine's.

Where will our money came from:-

Legacies:

18%(approximately)

Donations:

20%(approximately)

Events etc :

20%(approximately)

Lottery:

26%(approximately)

Trading:

13%(approximately)

Sundries:

3%(approximately)