About

We offer free, expert care and support for adults with an illness that cannot be cured, which includes cancer and neurological, respiratory, cardiac and renal conditions.

We also support a patient’s loved ones and carers.

We offer free care to adults from diagnosis, during treatment, and to their last days.

Most patients will have advanced, progressive disease, where the focus of care will have changed from curative to palliative and prognosis is limited. Some patients with complex needs are referred earlier.

Not everyone with an illness that cannot be cured will need specialist palliative care or hospice services. A specific need for specialist palliative care must be established.

Referral is appropriate where:

• Pain or other symptoms are difficult to control despite intervention
• It is difficult to meet the psychological, social and spiritual needs of the patient, family or significant others
• Care in the last days of life where additional support is required

The hospice In-patient Unit is not able to provide rehabilitation facilities, planned respite or long-term care.

St Richard’s Hospice provides support to family members and carers in a number of different ways, to enable them to continue and be sustained in their caring roles.

Examples include a sitting service from our hospice at home team or trained community volunteers to enable a person’s carer to go out for a few hours to take a well-earned break or for some essential needs outside the home.

Our Living Well courses and social and information sessions help people to learn new skills and strategies through education, exercise, therapies, creativity, relaxation and group support.

St Richard’s In-patient Unit does not provide admissions for respite care alone, as the hospice inpatient beds are used for specialist symptom control and patient assessment, and where it is their preference, for care in our patients’ last days.

All our services are available free of charge to people registered with a South Worcestershire GP (for example in Worcester, Droitwich, Pershore, Evesham, Malvern, Tewkesbury, Broadway, Martley and surrounding areas.)

The St Richard’s In-patient Unit cares for people across Worcestershire including those living in the Wyre Forest, Kidderminster, Redditch and Bromsgrove areas.

Yes. As well as clinical care for our patients, we support the people important to them such as their biological or chosen family and carers.

The Family Support Team offers a choice between face-to-face or remote support over the telephone and via video calls.

To refer into the St Richard’s Family Support services, please complete our online referral form.

You can also call the Family Support and Bereavement Referral Line Monday to Thursday, 10am to 2pm, via the main hospice number 01905 763963.

Yes. St Richard’s provides specialist nursing care in people’s own homes so we can continue to support you and your family and friends when you return home. Our Hospice at Home team offers care and support, and they also work closely with GPs, district nurses and social services carers.

Our Advice and Guidance Line is available Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm, or between 8am and 4pm on Saturdays, Sundays and Bank Holidays. You can access this via the main hospice number 01905 763963. Outside these hours, your call will be diverted to our In-patient Unit, where a member of the team can help with your enquiry. Click to find out more about the Advice and Guidance service.

If you would like to know more about these services, please talk to a member of the nursing team.

Healthcare professionals can refer a patient to St Richard’s Hospice for all our services by completing an online referral form.

You can refer yourself to St Richard’s Hospice for some our services by completing our online referral form.

Only healthcare professionals can refer someone for care on our In-patient Unit. Please speak to the professional involved in your care about this.

Visit our Access our Care page to find out more about referrals.

No, St Richard’s is not a member of any religious organisation. We welcome and care for patients from all religious backgrounds and no religious background. Our chaplaincy team leads on spiritual care and is multi denominational supporting people of all faiths and philosophies.

St Richard’s Hospice was founded in Droitwich, taking its name from Richard de la Wyche who was born there in 1197 and who was declared a Saint in 1262.

The snowdrop was chosen as the emblem for St Richard’s Hospice because it is known as the emblem of hope – the first flower to appear after winter, a sign of spring.

We depend on volunteers in almost all of our work to fulfil our goal of providing free care to patients and their families. Over 900 active volunteers bring their life skills and experience and carry out a wide range of roles within the hospice and community. Roles include patient care, administration, fundraising and helping in our shops.

No charge is made to patients and their loved ones for any of our services. This is made possible by the generosity of our supporters and community contributing to three quarters of our income, allowing us to provide our services to all those that require it, free of charge.

If you have private medical insurance St Richard’s may be able to recover some of the costs of your care. Please contact your insurance provider accordingly or for further discussion contact Abby Holliday, Director of Business and Income Generation, on 01905 763963 or

St Richard’s is an independent registered charity.  The majority of income is from public donations; this includes gifts in Wills, one-off or regular donations, fundraising events and personal challenges, trading, legacies and grants from trusts and business sponsorship. Approximately a quarter of income is funded from the NHS.

As with all other health care organisations, the work of St Richard’s Hospice is subject to inspection and regulation. All staff and volunteers are governed by strict confidentiality policy and abide by professional practice guidelines.

St Richard’s Hospice is inspected and regulated by the Care Quality Commission.

If you have any reason to comment upon any of the services provided by our organisation please don’t hesitate to contact:

Debbie Westwood, Care Director.

St Richard’s Hospice, Wildwood Drive, Worcester WR5 2QT

Tel: 01905 763963. Email:

In to protect our staff at work in the community, they now carry devices that can monitor and record conversations. They can summon support services and the recordings can be used in court proceedings.

In the context of the Savile Recommendations St Richard’s recognises the need to ensure there is no risk to the safety and security of patients and staff arising from visits by celebrities, VIPs and other official visitors.

The organiser will be responsible for ensuring the visitor is accompanied at all times when they are in contact with patients/families/staff/the general public. All St Richard’s Policies and Procedures, including our Safeguarding Policy apply to everyone visiting the hospice to ensure a safe environment.

St Richard’s Hospice is fully committed to safeguarding the welfare of all those we care for and support. We recognise our responsibility to promote safe practice and to work to protect all from harm.

We work together to encourage a culture which embraces diversity and respects the rights of children, young people and adults.  We support the right of all to be free from abuse and to be treated with respect and dignity.

All safeguarding issues are managed by adhering to  The Care Act 2014, The Children Act 1989 and 2004.

We will ensure that –

The welfare of those we care for will always be paramount.
The rights, wishes and feelings of all those we care for and those important to them will be respected and listened to.
In keeping those we care for safe from harm we will work with the multi-disciplinary team both within the organisation and external to it sharing information and working within the parameters of the Mental Capacity Act.
All staff and volunteers, whatever their role will work in accordance with the interests of all those we care for and support and will follow the policy and procedures laid down by the organisation.

Our Safeguarding policies and procedures ensure that robust systems are in place and set out the framework within which all staff and volunteers of the organisation are required to work to keep children, young people and adults safe. They are therefore able to respond appropriately to any safeguarding concerns.

Within the organisation we have the following in place and are therefore able to demonstrate the robust framework within which we work –

Clear Safeguarding policies and procedures
Two named Safeguarding Leads for the organisation
Departmental safeguarding advocates
Links with external safeguarding teams
Mandatory safeguarding training
External safeguarding training
Safeguarding supervision

The hospice Safeguarding Leads are Rebecka Sparks, Head of Family Support, and Andy Schwab, Specialist Palliative Care Social Worker.

Tel: 01905 763963