The care they gave Mum and Dad was delivered with time, understanding and warmth.

The care they gave Mum and Dad was delivered with time, understanding and warmth.

This Christmas, please help us to bring our expert, compassionate care to local families that really need it.

My name is Lucy and I’m one of the healthcare assistants at St Peter & St James Hospice. Today, I would like to tell you a little bit about what Christmas is like here as we start planning for this year’s festivities, because for many of our patients, this will be their last Christmas.

I also need to ask for your help to make Christmas as special as possible for the people we care for. This year our request is particularly important because of the financial difficulties we are all experiencing, including the hospice.

I started working at St Peter & St James Hospice last October, but my relationship with the hospice dates back a few years now. The hospice is where my Mum and Dad both came for end-of-life care when they became ill; Mum, in 2020 and Dad, last year when he got COVID. It’s hard to put into words how amazing the support we all received from St Peter & St James Hospice was. The care they gave Mum and Dad was delivered with time, understanding and warmth – it was incredible.

I’m obviously biased – but there’s something special about St Peter & St James Hospice. This year will be my first one working at the hospice on Christmas Day; I’m excited to experience first-hand the beautiful things my colleagues have told me so much about.

Many of our patients enjoy spending Christmas Day here at the hospice, surrounded by the people they love. Our goal is to provide them with expert care and support that helps them to enjoy a special day. The hospice will be decked out in baubles and decorations, there will also be delicious festive food, singing and presents. After all the restrictions, I have my fingers (and toes!) crossed that this year we can have our lovely Christmas party for our patients and invite families to share precious moments with their friends and family. Parts of Christmas can be extremely difficult and sad of course, so itʼs important that we enable each individual to have the experience they want, whether itʼs celebrating or spending quiet, quality time with friends and family.

Some patients want to spend Christmas at home in the surroundings they love; so we do everything we can to make it happen. Our wonderful nursing team will help them plan how to get home for Christmas Day, and ensure they have the right medication to help ease any pain and to help make their experience as positive as possible.

I’m sure you understand how important it is to spend Christmas with the ones you love – to cherish every precious moment together. I’m asking for your help – to grant local families the chance for one last beautiful Christmas spent together.

A gift of £48 could pay for a morning of care in our Inpatient Unit on Christmas Day or a gift of £10 can pay for a delicious Christmas dinner with all the trimmings for one of our patients. Whatever you can give will make a world of difference to our patients, their friends and families.

This Christmas, our nurses, healthcare assistants, cooks, receptionists, housekeepers and volunteers will be working tirelessly to bring compassion, care and sparkle to our patients this festive season. Some of my colleagues have shared their experiences of Christmas at the hospice which you can read here – please take a moment to read their stories, as they show why everything we do during this time is so necessary.

The true meaning of Christmas is the precious moments shared with those held dearest. It’s these moments, these memories, that will last forever. This year, I hope that all your Christmas wishes come true – and that you can spend your day with the special people in your life.

Thank you for being a kind friend to St Peter & St James Hospice – and Merry Christmas to you and yours.

Lucy Wickens

Healthcare Assistant