Community hospice showcases new look to reach more people across Greenwich and Bexley

Categories: Care and Leadership.

Greenwich & Bexley Community Hospice is renewing its commitment to local residents with a fresh new look, in order to bring it closer to the communities it serves.

The hospice works to support those living with a terminal illness, and its services are completely free of charge to Greenwich and Bexley residents. In launching its bold new identity, the organisation is working to cement itself as a household name within the community, ensuring that more people are aware of the care and support available.

Throughout the past year the hospice has carried out extensive research, speaking with hundreds of people across the boroughs of Greenwich and Bexley in a series of surveys and focus groups, to help it understand how it can better support local people that need its services.

It was this feedback around how things could be made easier for patients, families and loved ones that has been instrumental in shaping the new face and identity of Greenwich & Bexley Community Hospice, which will now be calling itself the Community Hospice.

Chief Executive of The Community Hospice, Kate Heaps, said:

“We are thrilled to be able to introduce our new identity to the people of Greenwich and Bexley – throughout the course of our research we unfortunately found that so many people across the two boroughs don’t know about us and the services that we offer.

We also found that there are still so many misconceptions about what hospice care really is, and it’s really important that we change this.

“We have made these changes to our name and brand primarily to become better connected with the people in our boroughs – we want everyone to know about the support we provide and how they can access this.

“Our hospice was born from the community, exists for the community and is supported by the community, so it’s important to us that this is reflected in our name and how we look.

“We are still here for the people of Greenwich and Bexley in exactly the same way and the focus of our care remains unchanged. We are so grateful to each and every person who has supported the hospice and who have helped ensure that we can be there for those that need us.

“And of course, thirty years of compassionate care wouldn’t have been possible without the unwavering dedication of our exceptional team. From empathetic volunteers to skilled clinical professionals, we are thankful to everybody who has played a role in making our hospice care what it is today.”

Emma Woodbridge, whose husband Jack was just 31 when he was diagnosed with terminal stomach cancer in 2021, supports the charity’s rebrand, which aligns it more closely with those it supports today.

Emma said: “Death doesn’t discriminate. Sadly a fact I know too well. When my husband was diagnosed with terminal cancer, we were handed so many leaflets and surrounded by so much information. It was overwhelming for me, and even more so for my husband. I remember we looked through some of the booklets and we could not see our young family being represented.

“Since then, it’s been important to me to ensure that the notion of death happening to older generations only is removed from our mind-set, and we have representation for all when talking about death.

“I have been lucky enough to provide some personal insight into the hospice’s rebrand, and I think it’s very important that Jack’s voice, and the voices of many young adults facing a terminal diagnosis, is seen and represented within the brand’s tone.

“The hospice does such amazing work, but I feel their old brand didn’t convey this. The Community Hospice cares about the person, about the individual and about the family. They do not make assumptions and their main priority is to listen to you.

“I hope, with this rebrand, there will be a shift in perspective about what a hospice really is, and how they help and care. Representation and voice is important in all areas of life, and it needs to be important in death as well.”

For more information about the support that the Community Hospice provides, please visit https://www.communityhospice.org.uk/

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Images:

Community Hospice CEO Kate Heaps with the new Community Hospice logo.

Emma Woodbridge with her husband Jack and daughter Niamh.

Comments

  1. Sally Brown

    We cared for my husband’s grandfather at home in 1999 with the amazing support of Greenwich and Bexley Hospice. Without their help and guidance, we would never have been able to have him die at home which was his greatest wish. We had a 2-year-old at the time, and the team spent time with her as well as us which meant a lot. This work inspired me to move from radiation therapy to palliative care, and being able to be working in the community supporting people as we were supported is the most fulfilling job I have ever had. I often talk to people about the support you offered, and we are eternally grateful.

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