Hospice Care Week is an annual awareness-raising week to raise the profile of hospice care across the UK. Last year 150 hospices got involved, and organisers Hospice UK hope that this year the number will be even higher.
The theme this year is ‘Connecting care’ and during the week hospices will be highlighting the special role they play in connecting individuals and families, connecting with local communities and connecting people with each other.
The hashtag #hospicecareweek will be used to promote Hospice Care Week on social media, and there will be a Hospice Care Week twibbon that you can add to your Twitter and Facebook profiles to show your support during the week.
Hospice UK will again be organising a Hospice Care Week Thunderclap, after last year’s reached over 150,000 people. A Thunderclap enables many people to share the same message, at the same time, through Twitter and Facebook.
Hospice UK have made available via its website key messages, templates and Hospice Care Week stamps (like the ones above), and further resources (including posters and a web banner) will be available over the coming months.
Hospice UK will be sending out updates over the next few months via a special Hospice Care Week newsletter, which you can sign up to by emailing hospicecareweek@hospiceuk.org You can also use this email address to let Hospice UK know what you have planned for the week.
Screen the film ‘Singing hospice’ during Hospice Care Week
Hospices are also being encouraged to arrange screenings of the film ‘Singing hospice’, which shows how even in the most painful of circumstances, people can connect and find joy through the power of song.
‘Singing hospice’ was filmed over several years at Strathcarron Hospice in Scotland: six hospice patients, a nurse and a fundraiser allow us into tender, vulnerable and funny moments of their lives.
Through a special collaboration with the Scottish Documentary Institute, hospices across the UK will be able to book and screen the film for free, and can use the screening as a fundraising activity (eg through selling tickets or organising a collection). The film can be screened at any location that works for you, and is available on DVD or Blu-Ray or to download. To find out more, email Rebecca Day, outreach manager at Scottish Documentary Institute, or call her on 0131 651 5872.
Raising awareness internationally
October also sees two international awarenesses-raising campaigns.
On 2 October 2015, ‘Hats on for children’s hospice care‘ will see people wearing a hat to work, school, college or just around the house to raise funds for children’s palliative care, while also raising awareness of the rights of children with incurable and life-limiting illnesses to receive palliative care.
World Hospice and Palliative Care Day takes place on 10 October 2015. The theme this year is ‘Hidden Lives / Hidden Patients’, highlighting patients for whom the need for palliative care is often not recognised – including children, LGBT individuals, people living with HIV, prisoners, soldiers and those living in rural settings.
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