THE NATIONAL Lottery has awarded £16,642 to St Richard’s Hospice in Worcestershire to help support the charity’s Living Well service, writes Madison Rogers.
The award-winning project unites patients who are living with incurable illnesses including cancer; motor neurone disease; multiple sclerosis; Parkinson’s and respiratory, cardiac and renal conditions.
In the past year services supported 542 people to live well. This included therapeutic days, courses and workshops at the Wildwood Drive, Worcester, hospice.
The courses including Tai Chi, Relaxation for wellbeing, managing fatigue, and Breathlessness have all proved popular.
It will cost £12m to run the hospice this year, which includes patient care and all the necessary support services. As a result, St Richards relies on voluntary support, including donations, gifts in wills, retail and events for the majority of its income with the remainder funded by the NHS.
Head of living well services, Charlotte Nicholls said: “We’re delighted and grateful to The National Lottery Community Fund for this wonderful grant which will help us to reach even more patients and their careers when they need us.
“We support individuals to learn how to manage their symptoms independently, enabling them to live fully by doing what matters most to them as people. They do this through the specialist support that they receive at the hospice, and also by meeting other people that are living with incurable illnesses. The sense of shared experience that people find in the hospice community is invaluable.”
Following the therapeutic day, a patient said:
“A huge thank you for the work of this caring and nurturing group of people.
“I was made to feel very welcome and very special, and have received help and encouragement every step of the way, along with practical help and ideas. Thank you.”
The hospice has also introduced a wellbeing cafe which will run every Wednesday, open 10.30 – 3pm. The cafe will be open to anyone with an incurable illness and their family members, carers and friends who are looking for support and expert advice from staff and trained living well volunteers.
Visit www.strichards.org.uk for more information about St Richard’s Hospice.
