The Martlets Hospice Annual Review

The Martlets Hospice has published its Annual Review for 2006-2007. A pdf of the Annual Review can be downloaded here ......

During 2006-2007, the Martlets Hospice provided specialist palliative nursing care for 389 patients. Of these, 163 died at the Martlets Hospice and 79 people were supported to die at home.

90% of our patients had a cancer diagnosis and many had complex needs requiring a high level of nursing and medical care. This year, the Martlets Hospice also looked after more people with diseases other than cancer, which presented new challenges for the clinical team.

Services provided by the Martlets Hospice during the year included in-patient, day hospice and home nursing care, physiotherapy, occupational and art therapy, counselling, bereavement and spiritual support, as well as practical help to manage the consequences of living with, or caring for someone with, a terminal illness.

Significant achievements during the year included:

· Running a Breathing Clinic in the Day Hospice to help patients manage chronic breathlessness.

· Enabling more Day Hospice patients to take part in and benefit from art and creative therapies.

· Providing bereavement counselling to 173 children and young people to help them cope with the death of a close relative.

· Opening a new Education Centre to improve education and training facilities for Hospice staff and other health and social care professionals across the city who care for people with a terminal illness.

· Holding a multimedia exhibition during the Brighton Fringe Festival in May 2007 to showcase art work produced by patients and raise awareness of the work of the Hospice.

The Martlets Hospice also faced a number of challenges during the year.

Fundraisers worked hard to meet their annual target of £3 million but ended the financial year with a deficit of just under £49,000. This figure would have been higher had it not been for a legacy of £285,000 which was received shortly before the end of the financial year. Managers have been working hard to develop new sources of funding to reduce reliance on legacies, which are by their nature unpredictable. These new sources of funding include the development during the year of a new Care Agency that will provide nursing and social care services across the city and raise funds for Hospice care.

The Martlets Hospice has also been working closely with the Sussex Beacon during the year to resolve its financial difficulties and help develop a sustainable service for the future.

Plans for 2007-2008 include:

· Re-designing the main entrance, reception and other public areas of the Hospice using a grant of £345,000 from the Department of Health. This will create a more welcoming environment and provide greater privacy for patients and their families

· Providing a wider range of clinics and therapeutic services and a full time physiotherapist in the Day Hospice.

· Providing more support for families and carers and more short term and respite care for people with terminal illnesses who are being nursed at home.

· Continuing to work hard to meet fundraising targets and generate support for the Hospice amongst the local community.

Roger French, Chairman of the Martlets Hospice Board of Trustees, said: “It has been another successful but challenging year for the Hospice. We face a continual struggle to raise the funding needed to provide Hospice services and to meet the growing demand for our services. Despite this, we have managed to expand and improve the services we provide and are now helping more local families affected by cancer and other life limiting illnesses than ever before.”

The Martlets Hospice also celebrated its tenth anniversary in 2007 and has supported more than 15,000 local people affected by terminal illness since it opened in 1997.

For more media information contact:

Robert Griffiths, Director of Fundraising, on 01273 747455 or email: Robert.Griffiths@themartletshospice.co.uk