Hospice care week 2015
Every year we celebrate Hospice Care Week, a national event which draws attention to all hospices and the need for excellent end of life care.
This year, Hospice Care Week took place between 5 and 11 October and from individual caregivers to national newspapers, everyone had something to say about the needs of people who have a life limiting condition. BBC news kicked off the week with an international report which found that UK end of life care is the best in the world and Claire Lawson, Occupational Therapy Lead and Palliative Care Nurse Practitioner at St Catherine’s, took part in a live interview on BBC Sussex’s drive time show, telling listeners about St Catherine’s high quality care.
Claire’s interview
By sharing the lesser known work of the hospice’s Therapies Team, Claire informed listeners of how her team help patients remain independent and living well for as long as possible through: pain management, home adaptations and individualised, tailored support. Claire also explained how public donations to St Catherine’s make a huge difference to patients lives. The interview was secured by Robin Lord, Digital Marketing and Communications Executive and was a great example of a clinical colleague really championing the cause.
National coverage in the Guardian
Additionally, during Hospice Care Week, Laura Mitchell, Print Marketing and Communications Executive and Caroline Collins, Inpatient Unit Staff Nurse, worked together to gain coverage for a fantastic article about the realities of being a hospice nurse. This secured coverage on the homepage of ehospice news UK and broke new ground for St Catherine’s gaining national coverage in The Guardian and Guardian online. These successes meant that a huge number of people have been able to read Caroline’s account of hospice nursing,
dispelling some of the myths around the profession and sharing the benefits. If you’d like to read Caroline’s account, you can find it here
This kind of activity is hugely important for St Catherine’s as a small charity in a high competition environment but also helps champion the hospice cause as a whole. Well done to all involved!
