Martlets Hospice, a charity that cares for people in and around Brighton & Hove living through a terminal illness joins forces with other hospices across the UK to support a new campaign, Open Up Hospice Care, from national hospice and palliative care charity, Hospice UK.
THE campaign is aimed at increasing understanding of the vital support hospices can provide for patients with life-limiting conditions and those who care for them.
One in four people in the UK miss out on the care they need according to earlier research by Hospice UK – due to a range of reasons, including: late or a lack of referrals to hospice services and low levels of awareness of the ways hospice care can support patients and their families and where and when this support is available.
Also, studies have shown that people from economically deprived areas, and black and minority ethnic (BAME) and LGBT+ communities, can experience barriers to accessing end of life care services.
Hospice UK and local hospices are working to tackle this through initiatives to extend care to more people, such as expanding community services and reaching out to the different groups of people who have been missing out on support, including those caring for their loved ones at home.
Martlets has worked hard to open up care to local people in the Brighton, Hove and neighbouring areas encouraging outpatients and their families to visit the hospice for a range of complimentary therapies, group activities, physiotherapy and to receive welfare help and counselling support.
The Hospice is also now able to offer a much stronger palliative care service to its local communities having recently incorporated over 30 medical consultants, specialty doctors, clinical nurse specialists, community nurses, occupational therapists, administrators and volunteers from the Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust.
Imelda Glackin, Chief Executive Officer at Martlets, said: “We are pleased to support this national campaign that highlights the wide range of care that hospices are able to offer patients from the moment of diagnosis. At Martlets we know that the earlier we can reach someone the more we can help them live their lives with hope, purpose and possibility.
“Increasingly our care involves supporting people to stay in their own homes. We want to help people continue doing the things they love in the time they have and feel comfortable where they choose to be. Hospice care can range from helping patients manage their symptoms so they can continue working and doing activities they enjoy, to offering welfare advice, providing physiotherapy and counselling for them and their families and providing a welcoming space to meet and receive support.”
To read the Hospice UK research, click here:
For more information on Martlets, click here:
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