After Pauline’s husband, Brian Shaw, was cared for at Pilgrims Hospice Ashford in 2016, the family decided to dedicate a leaf in Brian’s memory to place on our Memory Tree at the hospice. Here, Pauline shares how this helps the family to feel comforted knowing that Brian is still a part of the hospice.
Brian and I married in 1961 when he was in the Royal Air Force. We spent our first 15 years together running The Chequers pub in High Halden, Ashford; later, Brian became the Club Secretary at Tenterden Golf Course and in his last 17 years we both enjoyed working as lecturers on cruise ships. We did three world cruises, teaching the card game Bridge to passengers. Brian led a very public life and was well known and loved; he was always the popular front man, whilst I beavered away in the background!
Having a copper leaf on the Memory Tree at Pilgrims Hospice Ashford is very comforting for me, just knowing that part of Brian remains at the hospice that treated him so well and completely. As a family we were treated so very kindly, and nothing ever seemed too much trouble.
We were so very privileged to be looked after by Pilgrims; it was such a calming environment to be cared for in, somewhere we didn’t have to worry and could feel confident and relaxed in lovely surroundings, looked after by wonderfully sensitive staff. I feel a warm comfort knowing Brian’s leaf is there every day.
Pauline
Brian’s leaf on the Memory Tree at Pilgrims Hospice Ashford
Pilgrims allowed the whole family to be with Brian at such an important time; our 18 year old granddaughter begged me to let her stay at the hospice every night so that she could keep an eye on her Grandpa. This was no trouble for the hospice; they allowed her to sit in the family lounge to study during the day and sleep over each evening.
We were so very privileged to be looked after by Pilgrims; it was such a calming environment to be cared for in, somewhere we didn’t have to worry and could feel confident and relaxed in lovely surroundings, looked after by wonderfully sensitive staff. I feel a warm comfort knowing Brian’s leaf is there every day.
Pauline and Brian’s daughter-in-law, Teresa Heapy, is a children’s author; her poem Grandpa was inspired by Brian and is included in her new children’s book of the same title.
If you or someone you know is coping with a life limiting illness and you think you may benefit from Pilgrims free services, talk to your GP or Healthcare Professional about your options or click here to read about our Wellbeing and Social Programme.
Marathon Man 365 takes on new challenge for Pilgrims Hospices
Ben Rogers from East Malling has supported Pilgrims Hospices over recent years by fundraising for them with his epic marathon running. This year he’s decided to take on a new challenge, the Last One Standing race, on 9 June 2018.
Starting at 12pm runners have one hour to complete the first 4.2 mile loop and then need to be back at the start line ready to go at 1pm, then again at 2pm and so on. This will happen every hour until there’s only one runner left at the start line.
“I decided to start fundraising for Pilgrims after I lost my step-father, Doug, to kidney cancer in November 2015. Pilgrims Hospice Ashford were amazingly supportive to both Doug and my mum. Before coming into contact with Pilgrims, my belief was that hospices were sad places to be at the end of someone’s life. That couldn’t be further from the truth, so I wanted to do something to raise funds for them.”
Ben initially decided to run just one marathon in aid of Pilgrims, but after researching and befriending several multiple marathon runners he was inspired to take on the challenge of doing one a day for a year.
The idea of running a marathon every day sounded completely nuts looking back on it, but when I was doing it, it seemed completely normal.
Ben
Ben started his original incredible challenge at the London Marathon in 2016 and finished by running the Brighton Marathon a year later in 2017, running a total of 9,563 miles! He explained: “The idea of running a marathon every day sounded completely nuts looking back on it, but when I was doing it it seemed completely normal.”
After taking part in the Brighton and London marathons once again in 2018 Ben wanted to do something new so he decided to take part in the Last One Standing event, which is very much an endurance race.
Isabel Smith, Community Fundraising Officer at Pilgrims Hospice Ashford, said: “We wish Ben strong legs and much perseverance as he takes on this new challenge. The money he’s raised for Pilgrims Hospices enables us to continue offering our care free of charge to the people of east Kent.”
If you or someone you know is coping with a life limiting illness and you think you may benefit from Pilgrims support, talk to your GP or Healthcare Professional about the options or visit our Wellbeing and Social Programme.
11th May 2018
It’s in your hands
On World Hand Hygiene Day, Pilgrims Hospices nurses encouraged staff, patients, volunteers and visitors to take part and celebrate World Hand Hygiene Day on 5 May. This year’s theme was, ‘It’s in your hands, prevent sepsis in healthcare’.
Nurses from the hospices in Ashford, Canterbury and Thanet gave interactive demonstrations and shared the message that just simply washing hands thoroughly, can prevent sepsis and blood stream infections.
Debbie Todd Pilgrims Infection Control Lead Nurse said: “The teams have been sharing good hand hygiene technique and information to ensure everyone is taking effective infection prevention throughout Pilgrims Hospices.
“This day reminds us that hand hygiene is important today and every day. And it is especially important in healthcare settings where hand hygiene reduces the risk of patients contracting infections.
It’s been a great way of influencing the behaviour of each and every one to achieve improved, sustained hand hygiene for patients and health worker safety.”
This day reminds us that hand hygiene is important today and every day. Debbie
It’s a valuable experience for everyone and vital to reduce and prevent hospital acquired infections. It’s at the core of effective infection prevention and control (IPC) practices, which every health care facility aims for.
HHD takes place each year, the day is declared by the World Health Organization (WHO) and encourages patients and their family members to join health workers in their efforts to practice good hand hygiene. According to WHO, every year, hundreds of millions of patients around the world are affected by health care-associated infections. More than half of these infections could be prevented by caregivers properly cleaning their hands at key moments in patient care.
If you or someone you know is coping with a life limiting illness and you think you may benefit from Pilgrims support, talk to your GP or Healthcare Professional about the options or visit Wellbeing and Social Programme.
Dying Matters Awareness Week: What can you do in your community?
Each year in May, Dying Matters Awareness Week provides an opportunity to place the importance of talking about dying, death and bereavement firmly on the national agenda.
In 2018, the week will run from 14 – 20 May; Pilgrims Hospices will be sharing knowledge and experience to get people talking openly about death during the week.
In 2017, nearly 600 events took place across England, sharing information with over half a million members of the public, and it’s hoped that even more events will take place during this year’s awareness week. The theme for this year is ‘What can you do in your community?’, focusing on how people can encourage supportive conversations about death, dying and bereavement in schools, the workplace, hospices and other community areas.
With the End in Mind
As part of this nationwide week, author Kathryn Mannix will join Andrew Thorns, Pilgrims Hospices Medical Director, for a discussion about her book With the End in Mind, a powerful collection of stories taken from her clinical practice working with people who have incurable, advanced illnesses. The event will take place on Wednesday 16 May at 6:45pm at Grimond Lecture Theatre 3, University of Kent, Canterbury CT2 7NP.
This event is now fully booked; keep an eye on our website, Facebook and Twitter for post-event coverage.
Death Cafe
Pilgrims Hospices will also host a Death Cafe on Thursday 17 May, providing an opportunity for people to come together in a relaxed informal café environment and talk about death and dying. It is not a bereavement or counselling session, rather a space to talk about a subject we often avoid as part of our daily conversations. The event takes place 5:30pm – 7:00pm at the Ann Robertson Centre, 55 London Road, Canterbury CT2 8HQ.
There are just a few spaces left for our Death Cafe, so book now if you’d like to come.
Talking about death makes it easier to plan for and to deal with it when it happens.
Mandy Williams
Mandy Williams, Pilgrims Hospices Head of Education and Training, explained: “Talking about death makes it easier to plan for and to deal with it when it happens. We would like to encourage as many people as possible to join us for a conversation over coffee and cake.
“Our goal is to create a friendly space where people can ask those questions about end of life care issues and coping with bereavement.”
Patricia Morley Award
Wendy Hills, Pilgrims Hospices Director of Nursing and Care Services, will soon be accepting applications for this year’s Patricia Morley Award for Improvements in End of Life Care. The award is open to nurses and allied healthcare professionals who work within Health, Social Care or Pilgrims Hospices in east Kent. This will be the second year that care professionals can submit a project plan or model of care that will improve end of life care.
The successful applicant will receive £1,000 towards the implementation of the project that will make a difference to patients being cared for in the community.
“Sharing information, bringing communities together and challenging peoples’ perceptions and concepts regarding living and dying well, is making a difference within our community”, Wendy explained.
Patricia Morley was the incomparable and inimitable face of nursing at the Kent & Canterbury Hospital for many years. She worked tirelessly to promote best practice in nursing and was a long-standing Trustee of Pilgrims Hospices.
Last year’s award winner, Jan Hyde, End of Life Care Facilitator for East Kent Hospital University Foundation Trust (EKHUFT), celebrates the roll out of the winning project – Comfort Care Packs – across three hospital sites in east Kent.
Comfort Care Packs
Jan told us: “The Comfort Care Packs have been designed to support the essential comfort and dignity of family members staying overnight with loved ones. The pack content is aimed at reducing anxiety in the relative who has no essential items to use but doesn’t want to leave the patient’s bedside. Some toiletries, a toothbrush and toothpaste are just a few of the items that can really make a difference to families at such a sensitive time.
The Comfort Care Packs have been designed to support the essential comfort and dignity of family members staying overnight with loved ones.
Jan Hyde
Last year saw the launch of the Compassion Project, a collaborative project between East Kent Hospital Foundation Trust and Pilgrims Hospices to promote a culture of compassion at end of life within the acute hospital settings at EKHUFT.
Jan Hyde and colleague showcase the Comfort Care Packs
The partnership between the two east Kent health providers is improving end of life care for patients across east Kent. It continues to support hospital staff on more than 50 east Kent wards and departments, to give dedicated support to patients in the last days of life and work compassionately with their families.
All hospital staff who come into contact with patients and families at this incredibly difficult time are given training by Pilgrims nurses, and the hospital’s own end of life care experts, in the use of the Compassion symbol and are being encouraged to ensure it becomes part of the normal ward routine and culture when caring. The Compassion symbol is displayed discreetly on hospital wards when a person is in the final stages of life, providing hospital staff with an indicator to proceed with increased sensitivity and ensure visitors to other patients are respectful and courteous towards the patient and family in such a difficult circumstance.
Annie Hogben, Compassion Project Lead for Pilgrims Hospices, explained: “It’s so important to raise greater awareness of end of life care in hospitals. Pilgrims are working closely with hospital care staff to identify even further opportunities to ensure we provide expert services to patients and families. The collaboration is proving a continued success.”
We host Time to Talk community events throughout the year for the general public, aiming to open up the conversation about death and dying; with film screenings, poetry readings and Death Cafes and much more, there’s something for everyone.
To find out more about future Time to Talk events contact the Education team on 01227 812 616 or email [email protected].
If you or your family are experiencing Pilgrims care, find out about the support we can offer through our Wellbeing and Social Programme.
10th May 2018
Cousins complete gruelling marathons to raise £6k for Pilgrims
Running and raising money goes hand-in-hand for Liz Boatman and Sam Parker. The cousins have just completed the Brighton and London Marathons, raising more than £6k between them for Pilgrims Hospices.
Liz (pictured centre) is a Healthcare Assistant at Pilgrims Hospice Canterbury and a keen runner, having previously run the London Marathon three times. This year, Liz missed out on taking part in the London Marathon so took on the Brighton race instead, running alongside colleague Sarah Martins, Senior Ward Sister at the Canterbury hospice (pictured left).
Liz said: “I’ve worked for Pilgrims for just over a year now and every day I see the difference that fundraising and donations make to patients and their families; without that, we wouldn’t be able to do what we do.
Liz says she has always been sporty and trained hard for the event, but the weather made it a tough run. “The beginning of the day was lovely – mild and dry. Then it got hot and hilly which was really hard. Then, as we got towards the end, the weather turned wet and chilly!”
In spite of the conditions, Liz and Sarah finished strong: “We crossed the line with our hands raised together, with our families there to see us. It was a fantastic day and very well organised.” Between them, Liz and Sarah have raised around £3,000.
Sam Parker, from Herne Bay, also has a personal connection with Pilgrims and, like his cousin Liz, he loves to keep fit. Sam decided to fundraise after his father, Derek Parker, was cared for by Pilgrims Canterbury in 2014.
“I experienced first-hand the incredible and essential work Pilgrims offers to patients and their families,” explains Sam. “It’s been my pleasure to give back to the organisation at any opportunity I can.”
And Sam has given back in spades. In March he held a charity quiz night, raising a total of £1,767. The following month he completed his first London Marathon which was the hottest on record. Many runners couldn’t finish due to soaring temperatures, but Sam soldiered on.
“I knew I’d trained hard and so didn’t expect the heat to affect me as much as it did – silly mistake! There were plenty of tough times during the second half, but the atmosphere and encouragement on the day kept me hanging in there.”
Sam says he couldn’t have done any of the fundraising without the support of family, friends, colleagues and local businesses. “I’ve been surprised and really humbled. They’ve been amazing, both generous in donations and supportive in fundraising activities, and helping out any way they can.”
Sam raised a staggering £4,554.11 in total and has put his name down for next year’s race. Liz isn’t hanging up the running shoes either and will soon take part in the Leeds Castle Triathlon with Sarah and the Paris 10k.
“For as long as it’s feasibly possible, I’ll do what I can to help Pilgrims from all angles,” concludes Liz.
Feeling inspired?
We’ll be accepting applications for next year’s London and Brighton Marathons until October 2018.
If you or someone you know is coping with a life limiting illness and you think you may benefit from Pilgrims free services, talk to your GP or Healthcare Professional about your options or click here to read about our Wellbeing and Social Programme.
9th May 2018
Cyclists turn up the heat for Pilgrims Hospices
More than 1,200 cyclists took to the east Kent countryside on Spring bank holiday Sunday for Pilgrims Hospices annual Cycle Challenge. Early indications show this year’s event will raise more than £100,000 for vital hospice care.
The challenge is a firm favourite with regular cyclists and Pilgrims supporters. Teams of families, friends, cycle clubs, local businesses and services throughout Kent rode 45, 75 or 100-miles on the hottest early May bank holiday since the holiday was introduced in 1978.
All routes started from, and finished at, the Pilgrims event village at the University of Kent near Canterbury. Cyclists enjoyed browsing a variety of stalls; bike mechanics, sports massage, local cycling interest groups and refreshments were all on offer.
This year Lanmax brought along a truck for people to climb inside and get a bird’s-eye view of what a truck driver can see around them when on the road.
Simon Smith, a driver from Lanmx, said: “This is a great opportunity to share awareness with cyclists at all levels.
“As drivers, we all take awareness training to ensure we have cyclists’ safety in mind at all times. I’m here today with Sarah Brown from Hot Chilli Cycles who provide our awareness training and cycling instructor Chris Byrne, to share information with cyclists and supporters.
The first rider back was Giuseppe Chivilo from Ramsgate; he crossed the finish line at 10:46am with a ride time of 2 hours 54 minutes.
Giuseppe Chivilo receiving his Cycle Challenge medal
Bidfoodgenerously donated much of the food that cyclists enjoyed on the day. Bidfood representative, Tony Osborne, said: “We’re absolutely delighted to be able to show our support in this way.
“Although Bidfood operate all over the UK, we’re very people oriented and like to give back to the community in any way we can by supporting local causes. Pilgrims makes a difference to so many people’s lives here in east Kent. We’re only too happy to be involved with the Cycle Challenge and enable even more of the money that’s raised to go directly towards the care of patients.”
Regular cyclist Ian Ashton, Pilgrims Hospices Catering Services Manager, said: “What a lovely day it was for a very good cause.
“I cycle with the Canterbury Bicycle Club and it was great to see such a large turnout from our club. This event grows year on year with such well-planned routes; it’s so well organised, which is why the club keeps coming back. It’s a must do in our club calendar.”
Ian Ashton
Each year, many people take part because they have a personal connection to Pilgrims.
Sean Purcell and daughter Jemma, from Whitstable, chose to ride the 45-mile route in appreciation of the care that Pilgrims is currently giving their family. Sean said, “It’s a great cause; Pilgrims is taking great care of my wife, Deborah, who is accessing Pilgrims services at the moment.”
Sean and Jemma Purcell
Sisters Chloe Stroud, Gemma Ledger and Hazel Newport, from Dover, also tackled the 45-mile route for the second year running. Their team – the Newport Flyers – rode in memory of their dad, George Newport, who was cared for at Pilgrims Hospice Canterbury in 2017. Chloe said, “Doing Cycle Challenge together is a way for us to give back to Pilgrims for what they did for Dad; riding with family and friends makes me realise how much Dad was loved.”
The Newport Flyers including sisters Chloe Stroud, Gemma Ledger and Hazel Newport
Team Red Lion, Bridge Lejog is a cycling team headed up by Rene Renault, the publican at the Red Lion Inn in Bridge near Canterbury. Rene was joined on the day by fellow team members Chris Pidcock and James Jackson, who all rode the 100-mile route in preparation for their main challenge in September – an epic cycle ride from Land’s End to John O’Groats in aid of Pilgrims Hospices. Chris’s wife, Tara Pidcock, will be be their support as a driver out on the route. The team have already raised £7.3k of their £10k target; their sponsors are Quinn Estates, MySuperfoods and Manor Wines. All team members have experienced family members cared for by Pilgrims.
Team Red Lion Bridge, Lejog
Robert Grew, Events Fundraiser at Pilgrims Hospices, told us: “It was unbelievable to see such a strong show of support for Pilgrims! 1,238 people joined us in the beautiful sunshine to take on this year’s Cycle Challenge. It’s a privilege to organise the event and, seeing it year after year, I’m always reminded how much of a team effort it is. Our band of volunteers are just outstanding, giving up their bank holiday weekend to help make the whole experience safe and enjoyable for our riders. I can’t thank them enough, nor the waves of cyclists who puff their way around the course in support each year – fingers crossed most of you conquered Stowting Hill! And lastly, a huge thank you to our business supporters who help the event to raise as much as possible towards our compassionate end-of-life care.”
Missed out on Cycle Challenge?
Divas on Wheels returns on Sunday 24 June 2018. Enjoy the picturesque Kent countryside, great fun and a supportive atmosphere, and be part of this ladies’ bike ride to help us be there for the next family who needs us.
Setting out from The Independent Pedaler in Bridge near Canterbury, you can choose to ride either a 25-mile or 50-mile route through the countryside on quiet roads. If you’re new to cycling have no fear, dozens of our special Bike Heroes will join you, leading small groups or offering roadside repairs to anyone who needs it. You can also visit The Independent Pedaler for a pre-ride safety check.
Together, you can make a difference as you take part in the county’s only ladies bike ride for charity.
If you or someone you know is coping with a life limiting illness and you think you may benefit from Pilgrims free services, talk to your GP or Healthcare Professional about your options or click here to read about our Wellbeing and Social Programme.
