Our mission and core values
St Joseph’s Hospice was founded by the Sisters of Charity who came from Ireland in 1900 to care for the poor and dying of East London. They opened the doors to the Hospice five years later in 1905.

Our Mission
Our mission is to provide compassionate, specialist palliative care to people in the diverse community of East London who are living with life-limiting illness. We treat each person as unique, encouraging and enabling them to reach their full potential until the end of their life. Our care is provided free of charge to anyone in the local community who needs it. We listen to the patient and their family so that we can work together to manage pain and distress whether physical, mental, social or spiritual. We encourage openness and honesty in communication to create an atmosphere of comfort and safety whether in the Hospice, in the patient’s home or in the community.
To treat each individual as unique
- Valuing them without distinction or judgement
- Respecting their culture
- Respecting their beliefs – be they religious or otherwise
To enable all to reach their full potential until death
- Valuing what they have to offer
- Respecting the autonomy of the individual
- Encouraging them to participate in their own care, together with their family and friends
To confront the patient’s pain and distress whether physical, mental, social or spiritual
- Through close co-operation between all of the disciplines involved in the care of the patient and family members
To encourage openness and honesty when communicating with the patient and family members
- By respecting the patient’s wish to question or remain silent
- By respecting the patient’s confidentiality at all times
To create an atmosphere where healing can occur
- Through meeting the patient’s needs as a person
- Through accepting the terminal dimensions of the illness
- Through a holistic approach of care
To show particular concern for staff at all levels
- Through consultation and participation in decision making
- Through staff support
To be committed to education, research and an ethical approach to care
- Through the work of the Study Centre and Ethics Committee
- Ensuring that research projects are carried out when deemed appropriate
To be committed to the development of palliative care
Throughout the United Kingdom and further afield
To participate actively in National Associations
Of the various palliative care disciplines – medical, nursing, social work and chaplaincy
Our Core Values
Our five Core Values are fundamental to how we live and work at the Hospice. We constantly strive to improve by using our Values for guidance with regard to decision-making, ensuring quality, justice, compassion, advocacy and respect for all in relation to our patients and each other.
Respect for Human Dignity
We respect human dignity when we:
- Respect the sacredness of life
- Care for the whole person
- Demonstrate unity of purpose, while recognising individual differences
- Value each person’s contribution
- Act in a culturally appropriate manner
Service/Quality
We provide service when we:
- Create an environment of welcome and hospitality
- Promote quality care and excellence
- Encourage and demonstrate team spirit
- Recognise the value of individual initiatives and ideas
- Show openness to constructive criticism and feedback
Care of the Poor and Vulnerable/Advocacy
We care for the poor and vulnerable when we:
- Listen attentively to identify unmet needs
- Respond in a practical way to those in need
- Collaborate with others to share resources
- Create access to needed services
- Provide basic resources for daily living to those in need
Compassion
We show compassion when we:
- Act with understanding and sensitivity
- Work cooperatively with others
- Are available to those we serve and to each other
- Respect and nurture the environment
Justice
We promote justice when we:
- Act with integrity
- Respect the rights of others
- Take responsibility for our actions
- Preserve resources
- Provide quality without extravagance
- Demonstrate fairness in decision making
- Affirm celebrate and develop the gifts and talents of each person
- Model justice in all aspects of business practice
Our heritage and our values
Find out more about our heritage and our values in this short film featuring Sr Maria Coates and Head of Mission, Carolyne Barber.