Colin

We did it again......well done!

"Like many people, we regarded hospices as somewhere people just went to die so contacting our local hospice was at the bottom of our list when my wife was diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer in 2006 even though our doctor, a longstanding family friend, suggested it.

At that time all we really knew about the hospice was that it had a charity shop in the town and a van that ran around picking up second-hand furniture. This was despite the fact that we were both involved in the local community in many ways. I didn't know they looked after 800+ people a day in their own homes and provided training and expertise on things like pain control to GPs and hospitals.

I also wasn't aware to what extent they helped maintain and even improve the quality of life for the terminally ill through their Day Care centres and many other activities. They do this incredibly professionally and with the help of generous donations but with only less than 40% funding from the NHS.

Despite this great deal (for the NHS) they don’t know what NHS funding is going to be forthcoming from one year to the next which is an awful position for such a committed organisation to be in. Hospices nationwide are in a similar position and although most are well supported there must be many more people out there who would help if only they knew the full extent of their work".