City Hospice, Cardiff’s local hospice, is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year.
The charity was established in 1984 to provide community palliative care to the people of Cardiff. Over the four decades since its inception, City Hospice’s services have expanded to meet the needs of its patients, families and the wider community.
In addition to home-based specialist palliative care, City Hospice’s holistic approach and services now include welfare advice, complementary therapies, counselling and bereavement support.
Thanks to funding from The National Lottery, the provision of its bereavement care in the community is being extended over the next few years and will become available to more people across the city including families of patients, community organisations, businesses and schools.
Over the last 40 years, the charity has seen demand for its services grow at an exponential rate. In 1997, 100 patients were referred to City Hospice for specialist palliative care in total. Today, more than 100 patients are referred to the charity each month.
As the number of patients and families has increased, so has the charity’s clinical team which includes doctors, clinical nurse specialists and occupational therapists. The charity has also recently collaborated with the Welsh Ambulance Service to appoint a hospice-trained paramedic to assist with urgent and emergency home visits.
Liz Booyse, Chief Executive of City Hospice, said: “It is a privilege to care for our patients and their families across the Welsh capital, and we would not have been able to do so over the last 40 years without the dedication and ongoing support of our growing team, volunteers and the community.
“Our rich heritage is built on our unique understanding of the experiences of people living life with uncertainty following the diagnosis of a terminal or life-limiting illness. This underpins all we do, and our diverse teams work together to ensure we are there for people across Cardiff in the moments that matter. As demand for our services continues to increase, the work of our teams and volunteers and the support from the community, businesses, schools and other organisations has never been more important.
“We are looking forward to celebrating our 40th anniversary and ensuring we can continue to provide the highest care, comfort and support for the next 40 years and beyond with a variety of events throughout the year including our new 40 Charity Challenge.”
The charity is inviting people to share their memories and stories of the hospice from the last 40 years by contacting [email protected].
