Ignore the myths – we’re full of joy

WHEN you think of things people are scared, wary or unsure of, lots of pictures spring to mind.

Spiders, snakes, heights... but, hospices probably aren’t top of the list.

However, one of the biggest challenges we face is there are lots of preconceptions about what St Ann’s Hospice might be like.

People can be wary about coming to see us

Many presume it will be a dark, sad place.

Of course, we have very sad days at St Ann’s, but what many comment when they visit the hospice is that it is full of joy, laughter and celebrations of life.

That’s no surprise, I guess, when you realise that our aim is always to make sure that our patients are supported to live the very best quality of life they can.

Whatever their wishes or aims might be for their day, or for their time at St Ann’s, our teams across the hospice work together to support them to achieve it.

I’m really proud that the teams always listen to people and support them as much as possible to achieve their wishes.

Another myth we often hear is hospices are only for people with cancer, and only at the very end of life.

Again, this is obviously a huge part of what we do here and we work with lots of patients with various cancer diagnoses, some early in treatment or to help manage symptoms, whilst others are supported at the end of their life.

But, we also support people other life-limiting illnesses, such as Parkinson’s, Motor Neurone Disease, or organ failure.

Many of our patients go home again and some services, such as our lymphoedema offering, see patients for many, many years and enable them to have a much better quality of life.

The myths around hospice care aren’t just about the building or the services we provide either.

Many visitors think we’re part of the NHS, rather than an independent charity.

We work closely with colleagues from across the NHS and are commissioned to run many of our services, but we’re an independent, complex organisation in our own right.

As a result, to keep our services going we need to raise around £20,000 a day. It’s a huge undertaking, but one our local community really supports us with.

We’re so very grateful to all of the readers of the Stockport Express who think of the hospice and show their support.

On behalf of our patients and their loved ones, we can’t thank you enough.