There was an air of excitement at St Wilfrid’s Hospice at the beginning of November as Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cornwall, dropped into the hospice during its 40th anniversary year.
“It was wonderful to see The Duchess back at St Wilfrid’s; she officially opened the new hospice building in Broadwater Way in 2014.” Said a spokesperson for the hospice. She was met by Chief Executive David Scott-Ralphs and Chair of Trustees Fiona MacIntyre and greeted by staff, volunteers and supporters in the hospice café before heading to the Inpatient Unit to meet and talk to patients and family members. The Duchess also met some of those supported by the hospice’s Seahorse Project, a bereavement support service for children and young people.
The Duchess then planted a tree in the hospice gardens as part of the Queen’s Green Canopy project – find out more at queensgreencanopy.org.
Ten-year old, Holly Fuller was delighted to present a posy to the Duchess. She and her family have been supported by the hospice’s Seahorse Project, a bereavement support service for children and young people. Holly’s mum, Debbie Kelly said: ‘After I lost my dad and my nan, I was struggling with my grief and so were the children. I contacted the Seahorse Project and their support really helped.’
St Wilfrid’s hospice was and always has been supported by the community, it really is a charity for local people, supported by local people. Chief Executive David Scott-Ralphs said: ‘Local people helped set up the hospice in Mill Gap Road in 1981, you provided funds to enable St Wilfrid’s to move to its new building in Broadwater Way and you continue to offer financial support and help through volunteering today. Thank you so much for all that you do for us.
‘The Duchess was very interested to hear how our services have developed since her original visit and we are grateful to her for coming back to see how St Wilfrid’s is continually improving and striving to be the best we can be for the community.’
The Seahorse Project is kindly funded by Children in Need. Find out more about St Wilfrid’s at stwhospice.org.
About St Wilfrid’s Hospice
- St Wilfrid’s Hospice is a registered charity in East Sussex serving a population of 235,000 from Eastbourne, Polegate, Pevensey, Seaford, Hailsham, Heathfield, Uckfield and everywhere in between.
- It costs over £17,000 a day to run all the services provided by St Wilfrid’s Hospice.
- St Wilfrid’s supports over 2,300 local people with life-limiting illness and their families every year.
- All care is free of charge.
- St Wilfrid’s receives 30% of its funding from the NHS
- Local charitable donations fund the rest of the cost of running the hospice.
- St Wilfrid’s Hospice’s vision is of a community where people talk openly about dying, live well until the end of their lives and where nobody dies alone, afraid or in pain.
Fancy attending some of St Wilfrid’s fundraising events?
