How hospice staff’s work will go on through Christmas
While millions of people are spending time with family and opening presents on Christmas Day, staff at the Heart of Kent Hospice will be doing their best to make the day special for those under their care.
While for staff Christmas Day is not unusual in that the same care will be offered, there will be extra touches to make patients feel at home. The inpatient unit at the Aylesford hospice is fully staffed, and volunteers give up their time to man the reception and offer support to patients.
Decorations have been put up around the rooms, including one tree furnished with 550 remembrance stars following the recent Light Up a Life events.
Last week the hospice also ran a number of Christmas lunches, with crackers and mince pies donated by Tesco at Lunsford Park. Each patient will be offered lunch at the Preston Hall facility on the day itself, and can be joined by family and friends.
The nurses also enjoy a dinner prepared for them by one of the Hospice Cafe chefs, but take it in turn to check on patients.
They will also enjoy a slice of Christmas cake, donated by Debbie Wells, a cake maker whose mother died at the hospice in 2014. Mrs Wells ran a stall for her cake company, Bonne Bouche, at a Christmas fair, which raised £4,500.
This money will go towards the £600,000 the hospice wants to secure over the next year with its Get Behind campaign. The campaign, backed by the KM, was launched after another year of government funding freezes meant the charity relied on community fundraisers and donations for 84% of its running costs.
It is now faced with having to make redundancies to cut costs while maintaining vital services as demand increases. To donate, go to www.hokh.org/donate