35th anniversary celebrations launched at open day

Categories: Community Engagement.

Opening the event on Friday 27 January, Chief Executive Nigel Hartley welcomed visitors to the John Cheverton Centre and outlined the work of the hospice. He told the audience that as well as a year of celebration, the anniversary would be an opportunity to challenge some myths about the hospice and its work.

Many visitors were surprised to hear that every day the hospice cares and supports 600 people in their own homes, including care homes, through end of life services and bereavement support. As well as operating an inpatient unit, the hospice’s work in the community actually makes up the majority of the care they deliver.

The relationship that the hospice has with the local community is vital to it’s commitment to deliver end of life care to the people of the Isle of Wight. In 2016 Earl Mountbatten Hospice received 35 per cent of its funding from the Isle of Wight Clinical Commissioning Group, with the remaining 65 per cent being raised through the generosity and commitment of friends and supporters. Thanks to the help of fundraisers and over 600 volunteers, the hospice offers care to people with a variety of conditions including heart failure, motor neurone disease, dementia, liver failure, heart and lung disease and kidney failure.

With this in mind, a key part of the event was reminding guests that the hospice belongs to the whole community and is holding a whole suite of social events to suit all tastes. A number of people attending also took a tour of the building, which included viewing the Art Gallery and the inpatient unit, and everyone was offered a goody bag containing information about forthcoming 35th anniversary events.

Speaking after the open day, Nigel Hartley, said: “It was wonderful to see so many members of our community attending the Open Day, and celebrating the launch of this special year. The event was a great opportunity to explain more about how we support people across the Isle of Wight, and we received lots of feedback from people who didn’t realise that we now do more work in the community than within the four walls of the hospice building.

“We would like more people to come and find out what a warm and welcoming place the hospice is, and our Open House Fridays are an ideal opportunity for groups and individuals to do just that,” he added.

For more information about 35th anniversary events visit www.iwhospice.org

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