Isabel Hospice has launched an appeal to raise money to buy essential equipment.

The hospice is asking for the community to rally around so it can continue to deliver expert care to patients in its In-Patient Unit, Living Well Centre and out in the community.

The equipment appeal will help the Welwyn Garden City-based hospice care provider to raise money towards important medical and personal care items for their patients.

Charlotte Carder, Head of In-Patient Unit at Isabel Hospice, said: “From the moment patients and their families are in our care, we aim to provide the very best care possible.

"From helping to relieve pain to offering psychological support and, of course, to supporting those at the end of their lives, we are there for all our patients', and their families’, needs.

"But we can only do this with the right equipment – and some of ours has definitely seen better days.

"That’s why we’re calling on our amazing community once again to help us so we can get the essential equipment on our list and give the best possible care to our patients.”

The appeal is asking for donations to go towards items like syringe driver sets, which are used to give patients exact quantities of pain-relieving drugs over a precise timescale.

Also on the list is comfort-focused items such as a 'cuddle bed', which is a larger than normal hospice bed allowing families or couples to sleep beside each other in the In-Patient Unit – just as they’ve done throughout their lives together. A bariatric bed costs more than £11,000.

The appeal also features a pharmacy fridge, a hoist, a Mangar Elk to aid with falls, oxygen pipeline flowmeters, and specialist versatile chairs.

Isabel Hospice cares for more than 1,500 people each year – most of these are people living with life-limiting illnesses.

Their services include a day hospice, the In-Patient Unit, bereavement support, and care at home, among others.

The essential equipment appeal features the story of local couple Gwenda and Barry Sharpe.

Barry - or Sharpie as everyone called him - was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2021 and passed away at home with palliative support from Isabel Hospice.

Gwenda speaks about how, without Isabel Hospice and the equipment the hospice supplied, the last few weeks of Barry’s life "would have been unbearable".

"There are no words to express how amazing the nurses and doctors at Isabel Hospice are, truly nothing was too much trouble for them," said Gwenda.

"I’ve seen how hard they work every single day and I know what a huge difference having the right equipment can make, so if you can, I would be so grateful if you could help to buy some of the equipment on the list."

Isabel’s services are free of charge to those who need them, but they are not without cost, meaning £7 million must be raised each year to guarantee the future of care for eastern Hertfordshire - and the majority of this comes from fundraising and donations.

Anybody wishing to learn more about how to support the Essential Equipment Appeal should visit isabelhospice.org.uk/equipmentappeal/ or call the Isabel Hospice Supporter Care team on 01707 382500.

 

                                                                                                                                

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