Northamptonshire’s sister hospices Cynthia Spencer Hospice and Cransley Hospice have united once again to raise awareness of hospice care in the second part of a national initiative facilitated by Hospice UK.
The two local palliative care providers are encouraging people across the county to consider leaving a gift in their will to support and secure the future of their local hospices.
The national initiative, This Is Hospice Care, coordinated by Hospice UK, runs for the next two weeks across the country, with a powerful TV advert based on real life hospice stories. It aims to raise awareness about the vital role hospices play in communities and shift public perceptions of hospice care.
Harriet Connon’s mother Julie spent the last nine days of her life at Cransley Hospice. She said: “Someone’s gift somewhere meant my mum could have a hospice bed on Boxing Day within just two hours.
“You spend your whole life earning money and to make a choice to impact someone else in your name is really special and that’s what a legacy gives you.
“It’s not a return on investment that you see straightaway, but I know if I could give someone else the gift of hospice care that we were given, I wouldn’t hesitate. It doesn’t need to be thousands of pounds; every donation makes an impact.”
Patti Gardiner, whose husband Alastair Craig spent three weeks in Cynthia Spencer Hospice during his battle with pancreatic cancer, couldn’t agree more.
She said: “The end of life is such a difficult time. There’s a combination of physical symptoms and distress and fear about what death is going to be like. There are also vast emotional challenges for everyone. We wouldn’t have got through that time without all the support and help we had from Cynthia Spencer Hospice. The security that the hospice provides is just tremendous.
“Palliative care in the community is so important, and we need to ensure more people can access the expertise that was given to us. I would wish for absolutely everybody to have that relief and support.”
Cynthia Spencer Hospice and Cransley Hospice Trust hope that together they will be able toinspire more people to consider leaving a legacy, ensuring that these essential services can continue to provide their compassionate and specialist care for future generations andsustain the surge in demand – the number of annual deaths in the UK are expected to rise by 130,000 by 2040.
Asma Maya Joseph Hussain, CEO at Cynthia Spencer Hospice, said: “Community support is more important than ever to hospices, who face rising costs, growing demand for services and limited fundraising potential.
“By joining forces with our sister hospice and the coalition of hospices across the UK for this thought-provoking campaign we hope that together we can highlight the invaluable work we do and protect the future of hospice care for everyone, not just here in Northamptonshire but nationwide.
“A gift in your will could make a huge difference to a family at their most vulnerable. You can help ensure that this vital care continues to be available to all.”
Cransley Hospice Trust Head of Fundraising and Marketing, Jenine Rees said: “None of us like to imagine that we, or someone we love, might need the care of the hospice. But should we need it, the incredible local support is there, free of charge for patients and families, just as it was for Harriet and Patti.
“Leaving a gift in your will, of any size, is easier than you might think and will make more of difference than you will ever know. It supports families through the most difficult and saddest of times – a remarkable and lasting act of kindness.”
For more information about the campaign and how you can help hospice care live on for all, for now, forever, visit the This is Hospice Care website.
To find out more about leaving a gift in your will, visit the Cynthia Spencer Hospice website.
