DESCRIPTION

St Helena Hospice helps local people with an incurable illness to live well and die with dignity and choice. We support patients and families across north Essex, wherever they need us. This could be out in the home, at our 15 bed Inpatient Unit in Colchester, and at our two centres in Colchester and Clacton. The hospice is not just a building; the majority of our care is out in the community, making sure people can live the best possible lives they can at home. We care for people living with all incurable illnesses, not just those with cancer. These may be Motor Neurone Disease, end stage dementia, lung disease, heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and AIDS. Hospice care, or palliative care, means caring for someone rather than curing them. It's also about more than just looking after a patient's medical care and physical symptoms. We recognise that every person we care for is unique, and we work with a holistic approach to care for the ‘whole’ person, ensuring their medical and physical symptoms are met, as well as their emotional and spiritual needs and those of their loved ones. This includes providing counselling and bereavement support for those coming to terms with an ill loved one, or the death of someone close to them. We also run a bereavement service which offers support to any individual in the area who has experienced the death of a loved one, not just those who have been in contact with the hospice. Our core services are free for people to access. The cost of running our hospice is around £8.9 million a year. Around two thirds of this cost is raised through the support of the local community; people like you.