A Worcestershire hospice has been awarded £16,642 from The National Lottery.
The new funding from The National Lottery Community Fund, which distributes money raised by National Lottery players for good causes, goes to St Richard’s Hospice, in Worcester, to help support the charity’s Living Well services.
The award-winning project – Community Building for people with an Incurable Illness – unites patients who are living with an incurable illness including cancer; motor neurone disease; multiple sclerosis; Parkinson’s and respiratory, cardiac and renal conditions.
In the past year (23/24) 542 people were supported to live well by the service. This includes therapeutic days, courses and workshops at the Wildwood Drive, Worcester, hospice. Courses including Tai Chi, Relaxation for Wellbeing, Managing Fatigue, and Breathlessness have proved popular. Nature for Wellbeing and Creative Workshops are also well attended.
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 carers when they need us.”
She added: ”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.”
Recent feedback from a patient following the therapeutic day included: “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 Café that runs every Wednesday between 10.30am and 3pm which is open to anyone living with an incurable illness and their family members, carers and friends who are looking for help. A referral from a health professional is not needed to attend the Café.
The Wellbeing Café offers a chance for people to drop in for expert advice from staff and trained Living Well volunteers, signposting to services in the community and hospice and the chance to share experiences.
St Richard’s Hospice is an independent charity offering free, expert care for adults with an illness that cannot be cured, and support for their loved ones and carers.
Each year the hospice team supports more than 3,100 patients, family members and bereaved people in Worcestershire.
It will cost in the region of £12m to run the hospice this year, which includes patient care and all the necessary support services.
St Richard’s relies on voluntary support, including from donations, gifts in Wills, retail and events for the majority of its income with the remainder funded by the NHS.
