City Hospice, Cardiff’s local hospice, has joined the national conversation about the growing need for hospice care and the critical importance of legacy gifts in Wills.
City Hospice is one of over 143 hospices across Wales, Scotland and England taking part in the ‘This is Hospice Care’ campaign this week, a national initiative facilitated by Hospice UK.
The campaign, which launches today and features a powerful TV advert based on real life hospice stories, aims to raise awareness about the vital role hospices play in communities and to shift public perceptions of hospice care. The goal is to encourage people to consider leaving a gift in their Will to support their local hospice, ensuring that hospices can continue to provide compassionate and specialist care for future generations.
City Hospice is the only provider of home-based specialist palliative care in Cardiff, caring for over 1,800 patients with life limiting or terminal illnesses every year. In life’s most fragile moments, City Hospice is there, turning fear into comfort and ensuring that no one faces terminal illness alone.
The charity provides expert clinical care, emotional support and guidance through the uncertainty and challenges of terminal illness. Its wide range of services includes welfare advice, complementary therapies, bereavement support and counselling for patients and their families.
74% of people in Cardiff believe hospices deserve greater support but only just over a quarter (27%) have considered gifting to a charity in their Will, according to research agency Opinium.
As legacy giving is growing across the charity sector, new research by Hospice UK further highlights the urgent need to futureproof this source of income as legacy donations fund the equivalent of hospice care for 30,000 people per year, or 6,000 hospice nurses every year across the UK.
Dr Liz Booyse, Chief Executive at City Hospice, said: “We’re thrilled to be part of this important campaign that not only highlights the critical work we do, but also the lasting impact that gifts in Wills can have on our ability to continue providing care here in Cardiff.
“Every day, we see the life-changing impact of quality hospice care on patients and their families. For so many families, City Hospice is the steady hand that helps them face the hardest days with dignity and compassion. Legacy giving is one of the most powerful ways to support your hospice and ensure we can continue to offer care for all, for now, forever.”
Catherine Bosworth, Director of Income Generation and Grants at Hospice UK, said: “Hospices support people at the most vulnerable time of their lives, easing the physical and emotional pain of death and dying, letting people focus on living right until the end. They provide choice, dignity, and help families create lasting memories.
“They make life’s most difficult moments less scary – but they can only do this with enough funding. Leaving a gift in your Will is a powerful and heartfelt way to recognise your chosen hospice for all that they do.”
