Hospices unite to call on Londoners to leave a legacy

St Joseph’s Hospice are proud to have joined forces with hospices across London to change perceptions of hospice care and highlight the vital importance of gifts in wills to help secure the future of palliative care.

Along with the 11 other London hospices in the campaign, we serve a population of millions of Londoners and directly care for over 25,000 people every year and their loved ones. That’s enough people to fill more than 280 London double decker buses.

The collaboration is part of Hospice UK’s “This is Hospice Care” campaign, a national collaboration of 143 hospices across Great Britain. The campaign includes a powerful national TV campaign based on real-life stories from people who have experienced hospice care that challenge misconceptions about hospices, showing the breadth of care and support they provide and highlighting their place at the heart of local communities.

Nurses representing ten of the participating hospices – including St Joseph’s Hospice nursing associate Aderonke Tinuoye – came together in central London to encourage people to leave a legacy for Londoners and to highlight the parts of hospice care which are unknown to the wider public, each holding an item representing the holistic care the charities offer. In addition to clinical care across their communities, London’s hospices provide innovative, age-appropriate therapeutic support via art therapy, play therapy, gardening therapy, and pets as therapy. The hospices also offer ongoing bereavement support for those left behind after the death of an adult or child.

The hospices taking part in this campaign are St Joseph’s Hospice, Community Hospice, Harlington Hospice, Royal Trinity Hospice, St Christopher’s, Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospice, Shooting Stars Children’s Hospices, North London Hospice, Saint Francis Hospice, ellenor Hospice, Demelza and St Luke’s Hospice. St Joseph’s Hospice nursing associate Aderonke is pictured fifth from left. 

Last year, the cost of hospice care for 1 in 7 Londoners was paid for thanks to gifts left in wills.

3,657 adults and children and their loved ones benefited from free hospice care in the capital last year thanks to the generosity of people choosing to leave a gift in their will to a hospice. New data released from Hospice UK suggests legacy donations to hospices in Great Britain fund the equivalent of hospice care for 30,000 people per year, or 6,000 hospice nurses every year.

The hospices are now calling on Londoners to consider leaving a gift in their will to their local hospice, to ensure that the vital care they provide is secured for future generations. A new Hospice UK website, which launches today – www.thisishospicecare.org.uk – helps people find their local adult or children’s hospice, ensuring that the legacy they leave will directly help members of their community.

Leaving a gift in a will – whether a percentage of an estate, a set amount, or an asset such as property – helps fund hospice care for future generations. This flexibility means that any gift of any size will positively impact the care of people at the end of their lives.

Dr Rachel Black, Chief Executive Officer at St Joseph’s Hospice said: “It’s great to be part of Hospice UK’s ‘This is Hospice Care’ campaign and to join 11 other London hospices to raise awareness of the vital work that we do.   Like all other hospices, we rely heavily on the community to ensure we continue to provide the very best in specialist and compassionate care and gifts in wills have had huge impact on our ability to support people in their greatest hour of need. I hope that local people will consider leaving a gift in their will and ensuring we continue to be at the heart of our community for the next 120 years.”

Find out more

St Joseph’s Hospice offer a range of free services and support for people considering leaving a gift in their Will, including Will-Writing Workshops and Will-Writing Services

Photos: Matt Alexander/PA Media Assignments