St Elizabeth Hospice launches Sponsor a Nurse campaign

Every year St Elizabeth Hospice delivers free care to over 3,000 patients and their families throughout East Suffolk, Great Yarmouth and Waveney.

Centered on an individual’s needs, the hospice provides specialist support, whenever and wherever it is needed, whether at home, in the community or at the hospice.

These services cost £12.9m to facilitate each year, with the independent charity raising 70% of funds via revenue streams and the generosity of the community such as retail shops, donations and fundraising activities.

However, with research showing the demand for palliative care is estimated to grow 25.4% by 2040^[1], the independent Suffolk charity is calling on the local community to join its new Sponsor a Nurse campaign, to meet this demand and enable the hospice to provide more nurses in the local community for years to come.

Pauline Donkin, Head of Individual Giving and Supporter Care at St Elizabeth Hospice, said: “All our staff are incredible and with the support of local community and our 1,500 volunteers the hospice has been caring for patients and their families throughout Suffolk for over 30 years.

“So many people in the local area have a connection to the hospice, whether it is themselves, a family member or a friend who have received care. Every year we are amazed and humbled by the support the community gives us through raising funds and hosting events in aid of the hospice. Put simply without community support, the hospice would not be what it is today.

“With research showing the need for palliative care is going to increase substantially in the future, we are launching our Sponsor a Nurse campaign to meet this demand. Through Sponsor a Nurse we are calling on the community to once again show their love for the hospice and help us ensure we can be here today, tomorrow and in years to come to support local people and their families through the most difficult periods of their lives.”

Currently a team of 61 nurses work, both full-time and part-time, for St Elizabeth Hospice. These nurses carry out a variety of roles to provide care to patients and their families. Whether working at the hospice’s inpatient unit in Ipswich, working for its 24-hour advice line, OneCall, through to providing care at Beccles Hospital or visiting patients in their homes throughout east Suffolk, Great Yarmouth and Waveney, hospice nurses regularly go the extra mile to support those who need their case.

From as little as £5 a month over a year, a donation which would fund one 90-minute consultation with a Nurse Consultant, signing up to Sponsor a Nurse will make a difference to St Elizabeth Hospice and its nurses. Helping the hospice to plan for the future and ensure it can continue to evolve and expand its vital services to care for patients and their families in the local community for years to come.

[1] Page 1 https://bmcmedicine.biomedcentral.com/track/pdf/10.1186/s12916-017-0860-2.pdf

To find out more about the services St Elizabeth Hospice provide, donate or volunteer visit the St Elizabeth Hospice website