A hospice community engagement network in the South West of England is inviting new members to join them to meet colleagues and share ideas.
The South West Network aims to build on the work of the Midlands Network which has been meeting for almost two years and has thirty-one members with a variety of roles in the fields of community engagement, partnerships and development.
Several South West hospices have been attending meetings with the Midlands Network, including Dorothy House Hospice Care, Mount Edgcumbe Hospice and Prospect. These have been beneficial for members to access peer support, especially for those who are a team of one.
The first meeting was hosted by Gina Starnes at Mount Edgcumbe hospice in St Austell, Cornwall and more recently in November the Midland and South West networks came together at Prospect Hospice in Swindon.
Topics for discussion include community hubs, community bereavement support, understanding and discussion on how to engage with seldom heard groups, and local engagement initiatives. The meetings also provide the opportunity for attendees to
give updates on their own projects and the evolving work of their hospices.
Outside of the meetings network members often contact each other to seek advice, canvass opinion, offer opportunities for training and suggest conferences of mutual interest.
The next meeting in the South West will be hosted by St. Margaret’s Hospice in Taunton on February 7. For more information or to attend contact Louise Clapton, Community Partnership Co-ordinator for Dorothy House Hospice Care.
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