Inside St Christopher's hospice: Meet the nurse regularly visiting patients who decide to die at home
In 2016, the hospice delivered 14,161 home visits across south London
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Your support makes all the difference.St Christopher’s hospice is celebrating 50 years. The hospice was founded in 1967 and is widely recognised as the first modern hospice in the UK.
Located in Sydenham, it provides care and support to more than 6,000 people across five south east London boroughs (Bromley, Croydon, Lambeth, Lewisham and Southwark).
Despite its main mission of providing palliative care for terminally ill patients, at St Christopher’s the focus is on life, rather than death. The hospice runs several activities to support in- and outpatients, their families and the local community.
To mark its 50th anniversary, The Independent is releasing a six-episode series, highlighting the stories of the people who have been benefiting from the hospice’s services to live a better life.
In the second episode, we had a close look at the hospice’s work with the local community. We joined nurse Matt Loveridge on a home visit to Allan Hipwood, a 92-year old patient who’s been diagnosed with a terminal illness.
Mr Loveridge has been visiting Mr Hipwood for almost a year now, helping him monitor his pain and plan his future as his condition deteriorates.
In 2016, St Christopher’s Hospice delivered 14,161 home visits across the five south London boroughs. 70 per cent of the hospice’s patients treated have died at a place of their choice.
Mr Hipwood has decided that, for now, he feels more comfortable at home, so he’s regularly visited by Matt.
“Should I need anything, I could easily phone up and ask to speak to Matt”, said Mr Hipwood.
“[But] I'd rather be at home and put up with the aches and pains, whatever they might be. And this is where St Christopher’s are giving me whatever I need to feel happy and comfortable”, he added.
For Mr Loveridge, the job offers him a “huge sense of satisfaction” of being able to help people. “You need that, because it is a job that has some emotional cost to you, because you are looking after people at a very vulnerable time”, he said.
St Christopher's hospice is located in 51-59 Lawrie Park Road, London SE26 6DZ
For more information, visit: stchristophers.org.uk/
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