We have received a generous donation of £22,422 from INEOS, which will be used to fund our Hospice@Home service for the month of July!

Our Hospice@Home service is the only model of its kind in Scotland and enables people to remain at home, surrounded by everyone and everything they love, in their last weeks of life. During the COVID-19 pandemic, we have seen a significant increase in the number of people being referred to this service.

Dying is a fundamentally human experience and a key challenge is to recognise that the home is the preferred care setting for many. Figures from Hospice UK show that 75% of people want to die at home, but only 25% actually do. Because of the Coronavirus, and the restrictions put in place on visiting hospitals and hospices, it has been even more important for people to remain at home in familiar surroundings and in the company of close family and friends. This was particularly true for Joyce whose mum recently benefitted from the care and support of our Hospice@Home team:

Self-isolation due to the Covid-19 pandemic was just too much for our mum and most definitely hastened her illness. Like the majority of the country, our family was observing the “Stay at Home” regulations but from phone conversations we could sense things weren’t right. I was shocked to realise just how true that was.

For a couple of weeks, I felt we were so alone but then the district nurses visited and immediately put help in place. They contacted Strathcarron’s Hospice@Home team whom we cannot praise highly enough. The service was quite new four years ago when our dad was really ill so we had experienced their care then (although for a shorter period of time)

I was immediately reassured on opening the door to the Hospice@Home team on that first day. Caring, capable, compassionate, kind, are the words that immediately spring to mind. They made such a difference to mum in the way of emotional and personal care and gave such reassurance to my sister and myself.

It is an old cliché but words cannot do justice to the care of the Hospice@Home Team. Nor could a monetary value be placed, as it is priceless.  It is a really wonderful service."

Our Hospice@Home service is run in its entirety on donations, receiving no statutory funding, and this support from INEOS could not have come at a more crucial time. With our charity shops closed, fundraising events, campaigns and collections cancelled, this type of financial support is needed now more than ever.

Andrew Gardner, CEO INEOS in Grangemouth, said:

“INEOS employees at Grangemouth are very aware of the special contribution and commitment the staff at Strathcarron Hospice provide to their patients and their relatives. We are extremely pleased to be able to help the Hospice, through this gift, to manage the increase in the number of patients choosing their Hospice@Home service during the pandemic. This means that patients will continue to have the option to be cared for in the last weeks of their lives at home, surrounded by their loved ones, with the support of the caring staff from the Hospice.

Thank you, INEOS.