Light up a Life Christmas is a traditional time of celebration, of sharing and of remembrance. Celebrate and remember the life of someone you have loved by sponsoring a light on our very special tree. You are cordially invited to join us at the Hospice on Sunday 7th December 2014 for our annual Light up a Life Carol and Tree Lighting Service.

Seasonal refreshments will be served after the service. To sponsor a light on our Light up a Life tree please see the enclosed leaflet for details.

Winter 2014 Issue

One Year in New Building and Hospice Receives Top Marks After just one year in the new building St Benedict’s Hospice and Centre for Specialist Palliative Care was praised in a recent survey carried out by South Tyneside NHS Foundation Trust. The yearly Patient-led Assessment of the Care Environment (Place), held between March and May this year, revealed patients’ privacy and dignity, cleanliness, food and general building maintenance were of a high standard. Trust Chief Executive Lorraine Lambert said: “We always aim to ensure every single one of our patients is cared for with compassion and dignity in a clean, safe environment, so these results are fantastic news. “Recurring themes in the assessors’ comments were the friendliness of the atmosphere and the high quality of the environment, and staff in all departments can justifiably feel very proud.” St Benedict’s was one of 12 South Tyneside NHS Foundation Trust services inspected this year. Patients gave it an A grade, saying they were very confident that it supported good care.

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New Hospice Shop a Great Success

St Benedict’s new charity shop on Sea Road in Fulwell is proving to be a great success with local people. Opened on the 14th of July by Take That tribute band, Re-Take That, the shop is raising funds by selling good quality donated clothes, jewellery, accessories, bric-a-brac etc. Derek Moss, Chairman of St Benedict’s Hospice board of trustees said “We have been overwhelmed by the generosity of people who have donated so much to us when they learned we were to open the shop and the shop has been so busy since we opened, our volunteers have been run off their feet.” The shop in Sea Road is just the beginning as another shop, solely dedicated to selling quality donated furniture, will be opening shortly in Ryhope. If you have items you would like to donate to sell in the shops or if you are interested in giving your time as a volunteer then please contact Scott Marshall, Retail Manager on 0191 512 8436. www.stbenedicts.co.uk

Give As You Live Online Shopping with a Heart Shopping online is fast and convenient and with Christmas fast approaching wouldn’t it be lovely to sit in the comfort of your own living room, choose what you want and then have it delivered directly to your door. No more battling through the crowds. Well by signing up with Give As You Live you can shop online at most of the major High Street stores and many more independent retailers and at the same time St Benedict’s will receive a commission from your purchases. Visit www.giveasyoulive.com/join/ benedictshospice sign up and choose St Benedict’s as your charity, then every time you shop you will be supporting us – it really is easy.

www.stbenedicts.co.uk

Dedication Tree The Bridges Shopping Centre has once again given us the amazing opportunity to have our Dedication Tree in the centre throughout the Festive Period. For a small donation shoppers can call at our stall while doing their Christmas shopping and write a dedication message for someone special on one of our special baubles which will then be hung on the tree up to the weekend prior to Christmas. We would really appreciate some volunteer help from people to man the stall in short shifts. So if you are able to offer a couple of hours, any day of the week, on the run up to Christmas please give fundraising a call on 0191 512 8436 or email [email protected].

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Volunteers Wanted Volunteers are the life blood of the hospice and without the support of the hundreds of volunteers who give freely of their time and skills the hospice would not be able to offer the same level of care to patients and their families that it does.

Volunteering Spans the Ages

Volunteers are used in many different ways and we are always on the look out for people. In return we can offer training, a great working atmosphere and the feeling that the role you are doing is truly making a difference. We currently have the following volunteer vacancies: • Ward breakfast shift • Ward lunchtime shift • Ward afternoon shift • Gardening

8am to 10am 11am to 1pm 2pm – 4pm anytime

If you have a spare couple of hours each week and would like to join our friendly team of volunteers then please contact us for more information or for a volunteer application pack. Call Julie Dagg on 0191 512 8433, e-mail [email protected] or you can download an application form from www.hospice.co.uk/volunteers. 4 | Winter 2014 Issue

Becky Hutchinson and Liz Watt are separated by more than a couple of generations but they have many things in common, both live in Seaburn, both are smiley chatty people and both of them give up some time every week to volunteer at St Benedict’s, serving lunches on the ward to patients, looking after visitors and arranging flowers. Despite their age difference Becky and Liz are great friends and both thoroughly enjoy what they do at the hospice.

www.stbenedicts.co.uk

Becky (18) started volunteering at St Benedict’s about a year ago and is about to go off to University in York to study Social Work. She says “I started to volunteer because I had a bit of spare time and wanted to do something that would be enjoyable and useful but would also let me gain some life experience and would perhaps be a good grounding for me in my future career. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time volunteering at St Benedict’s and will really miss it when I go off to university but I know that when I am home I will still pop in to see everyone because I have made so many good friends at the Hospice.” Liz has been a volunteer at the Hospice for 19 years and, as well as doing 2 days per week on the wards, she also helps out fundraising at various events throughout the year. Liz is a few years older than Becky (she doesn’t want us to say how many) and her reasons for volunteering are different but she gets very similar things out of what she does at St Benedict’s. Liz says “I started volunteering at St Benedict’s when I retired as I wanted to keep active and still have a feeling of purpose. I am on my own now and even though there are some days when I think to myself I could just stay at home, I just get out and get on with it because I love the company, I love meeting the patients and their families and doing what I can to help them and I have so many good friends that I see every time I come. Volunteering at St Benedict’s has been a lifesaver for me and I would encourage all older people, if they can, to think about volunteering as it has really made a huge difference to my life.” So volunteering has something for everyone, young or old, and there are so many way to become involved. Whether, like Becky, you are looking for ways to gain skills and experience or, like Liz, you have some spare time that you would like to fill, then we would love to hear from you no matter if you are 18 or over 21 like Liz.

www.stbenedicts.co.uk

Love U 2 On Sunday 2 November from 4.00pm to 5.30pm an event is being held at the Hospice for children and young people whose mum or dad has died. This will be a chance to meet up with other young people to share memories of your mum or dad. You can personalise your own floating candle and float it on our lake in their memory. There will also be a session facilitated for parents to share their own experiences of grief and loss. To find out more about this event please contact Caroline Worsfold on 0191 512 8425 or email [email protected] Winter 2014 Issue | 5

Iron Man Challenges – The Way to Relax! Not being one who likes to be told not to do something, Lisa worked with a physio who specialised in chronic pain and slowly built up from 5 minutes on a static bike to 100 mile cycles, then she learnt to swim properly and started to test out running again with 3 mile sprint triathlons. Lisa says “Being told you could no longer do something you loved was so hard, I’m not the type of person who likes to be told no and I was devastated that I could no longer run. I decided that I needed to do it again. In my job I see people every day for whom life has been cut tragically short and it makes me realise that you need to pack as much into your life as you can and experience as many things as you can because you never know if you’ll get the opportunity to do it in the future – don’t take life for granted. Dr Lisa Baker, Consultant in Palliative Medicine likes nothing more than to relax after the stress of working on the wards here at St Benedict’s. However, no curling up with a good book or watching television for Lisa, she likes nothing better than to don her Lycra and take part in Ironman challenges, the ultra sport event which sees participants doing a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike ride followed by a full marathon of 26.2 miles! The 42 year old mum of two, has always been keen on doing endurance sports and had completed several half marathons before moving up, in 2004, to taking part in the Amsterdam Marathon. However Lisa got injured so badly she couldn’t take part in sport and after surgery spent 18 months on crutches and was told that on no account was she to do any more running. 6 | Winter 2014 Issue

Once I had begun working with my physio I realised that I could get back to it and in 2012 I did the Sunderland Marathon – my first marathon after my injury. That was when I thought to myself I want to do an Ironman challenge, so I did Austria in 2013 then this year my husband and a group of our crazy friends joined me in Roth in Germany to do the Ironman challenge there in 35 degree heat. My 14 year old daughter is even showing signs of wanting to do triathlon although the youngest at 11 hates running and cycling and just wants to swim.” So what’s next for Lisa? “Well there are a number of challenges I would like to do, including a Double Ironman – so watch this space!”

www.stbenedicts.co.uk

Super Heroes Raise Thousands Sunday 8th June saw over 100 Super Heroes of all shapes, sizes and ages gather in Herrington Country Park for our first ever Super Hero Sunday and what a great day they all had at this family sponsored walk to celebrate or remember the super heroes in their lives – some sponsorship is still to come but over £3,000 has been raised to support patient care at St Benedict’s.

Giving Regularly – It Really Does Make a Difference The smallest of gestures can make a big difference to people’s lives. It’s the same here at the hospice – it’s the small, special things we do for our patients that mean so much to them; having their hair done, a manicure, or maybe a complimentary therapy session can make them feel so special. Giving even the smallest of gifts regularly to St Benedict’s Hospice ensures that patients and their loved ones experience the very best of care in the loving and caring environment that is so special to hospices. www.stbenedicts.co.uk

£2 per month could give every patient who would like to the opportunity to leave Memory Boxes for their loved ones. £5 per month could help to increase our family bereavement service, giving children and adults the support they need after the loss of a loved one. £10 per month could enable patients or carers to receive complimentary therapies such as aromatherapy or reiki. You can give monthly regular donations by standing order (call us for a form) or online through Just Giving at www. justgiving.com/stbenedictshospice.

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Deciding Right – Supporting People to Make Decisions about Their Future Care

Using Art as Therapy Funding from Big Lottery Fund is enabling St Benedict’s to offer Art Therapy to patients for a short period of time. Sometimes difficult thoughts, feelings, experiences and behaviour can build up and cause problems in our lives. Art therapy uses art and the creative process to help people express these concerns with the aim of gaining understanding or discovering ways to make these things more manageable. Art making can be very relaxing and many people find that the art of creation helps them to feel calmer and think more clearly. Making a picture about a feeling or an event may be a way to gain a new perspective on it or get rid of things that have been bottled up inside. Discussing your feelings and thoughts with an art therapist in a safe environment can help relieve stress and stop worries from building up.

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The Deciding Right Initiative supports people to make decisions about any aspect of their future care. This initiative ensures that patients’ wishes are carried out in the event of them losing the capacity to make that decision in the future. For example, there may be some treatment or care that you as a patient would not want in specific situations where you would not have the capacity to make your wishes clear. Deciding Right makes clear how you can inform care teams of your wishes and, in some situations, make that decision legally binding on carers. If you would like more information on Deciding Right then visit the website www.nescn.nhs.uk/deciding-right. www.stbenedicts.co.uk

to wear their best Christmas jumper or festive fancy dress. Our minimum sponsorship ask is £50 per team member. For more details about the Turkey Trot or to request a registration form email [email protected] or call fundraising on 0191 512 8436.

Trot Like a Turkey – A fun pre-Christmas event for all the family Join us on Saturday 6th December at Mowbray Park for the 4th Annual Turkey Trot. Enjoy the festive atmosphere of the sparkling Christmas lights as you trot around with your family or friends dressed as a Christmas Turkey! You can take part in this sponsored event as a family; individual; group of friends or work colleagues – in fact the Turkey Trot is for anyone. It’s not a race; you don’t have to be super fit. You just need a sense of fun. The Trot starts at 4pm and is approximately a 2k route around the park. You can do it in memory of a loved one or just as a fun family activity in the run up to Christmas to raise money for St Benedict’s. Adult registration (over 15) is £10 which includes your rather lovely turkey costume. Registration for under 15’s is free and we would encourage children www.stbenedicts.co.uk

Get Your Affairs in Order and Support St Benedict’s During November a number of local participating solicitors are offering their Will making services free of charge in return for a donation to St Benedict’s. According to the Law Society six out of ten people in the UK fail to make a Will, which can cause distress and upset for those left behind. So don’t miss out on this fantastic opportunity to provide peace of mind to yourself and your loves ones. For more information and a list of participating solicitors contact fundraising on 0191 512 8436. Winter 2014 Issue | 9

Pounding the Streets to Support St Benedict’s Sunday 7th September saw twenty brave St Benedict’s supporters pull on their running gear and join the 57,000 other runners taking part the Great North Run. Among those taking part to support us were family and friends of 37 year old Charlotte Longstaff who died at St Benedict’s on Easter Monday following several weeks as an in-patient. Dad Dick, sister Amy, best friend John, cousins Laura and Liam, Aunty Carol and friend Josh were all Team Charlotte on the day and were supported by their back up crew of Mam Linda, twin sister Louise, niece Erin and nephews Joel and Drew. Charlotte and her twin sister Louise were born two months premature and at nine days old Charlotte contracted meningitis which left her with severe disabilities and needing 24/7 care. Throughout her life she had numerous brain surgeries and a spinal fusion resulting in her being confined to a wheelchair, however she never failed to 10 | Winter 2014 Issue

amaze everyone with her wonderful zest for life, sense of humour, infectious giggle and beautiful smile that could light the darkest room. Charlotte loved music, especially The Beatles; singing; football; shopping and nothing was better than a visit to a favourite cafe for tea. At nine years old she became a big sister to Amy, enjoying nursing and cuddling her, and in later years being nursed and cuddled by Amy in return. Twin sister Louise and Charlotte always had a strong bond and devotion to each other, with Louise’s partner John becoming Charlotte’s best friend. She adored being aunty to their children Erin, Joel and Drew and enjoyed spoiling them with treats. She taught all who knew her how to love, and be loved and with the support of all her family she was able to live life to the full. www.stbenedicts.co.uk

In December 2013 Charlotte was taken Ill and was finding it hard to recover and in January 2014 was admitted into St. Benedict’s Hospice. Charlotte’s Mam, Linda says “the care and support we received as a whole family was beyond measure, allowing Charlotte to live her last few weeks with great dignity. On Easter Monday she passed away peacefully, surrounded by her close family.” Led by Charlotte’s dad Dick, Team Charlotte donned their St Benedict’s t-shirts, all customised with photographs of Charlotte and they set off to the start line in Newcastle ready to make their way to South Shields.

Dick said “Charlotte was a very brave young lady, who achieved so much in life despite her disabilities. She is greatly missed every day by all of us and we knew that we needed to do something in her memory, something that would make her proud and that would help to support St Benedict’s. It was a very emotional day for all of us but we all knew that Charlotte was watching over us as we did the run. One of Charlotte’s favourite books was The Tale of Charlotte the Caterpillar who overcame lots of things and became a beautiful white butterfly. Just before the start line, in Exhibition Park, I saw a white butterfly and we saw one again around the 10 mile mark. We could feel Charlotte willing us on all the way, even when you wanted to stop running and just walk the rest of the way. At the end of the run we had a picnic and toasted Charlotte with Champagne, then 22 of us gathered together in Fulwell for an Italian meal where we recounted the day and remembered Charlotte, our beautiful white butterfly who opened her wings and flew away.” The Longstaff family say they feel privileged and grateful to be part of the St Benedict’s family. To date they have raised over £1,500 and there is more to come in, so they want to thank everyone who sponsored them. St Benedict’s is proud of Team Charlotte and all the other runners who took part in the Great North Run and we thank you so much for all your hard work.

www.stbenedicts.co.uk

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One Wish – The Hospice Lottery That Supports Four North East Hospices Have you joined the One Wish Hospice Lottery yet? One Wish Hospice Lottery has raised over £5 million for 4 hospices here in the North East; one of them being St Benedict’s and this in turn helps us to support the patients and families in our care. Every week there is a prize fund of £1725. It’s only £1 per week to play and you never know it might be you walking off with the £1000 weekly first prize. To find out more and to join just visit www.onewish.net.

Keep Updated With Facebook and Twitter Facebook and Twitter help us to keep you constantly up to date with what’s going on at St Benedict’s. Please like our Facebook page or follow us on Twitter - @stbenedicts1984 then you’ll always be able to know what’s going on and tell us what you’re up to.

Service of Remembrance St Benedict’s Hospice Palliative Care Team invites you to a Service of Remembrance at St Aidan’s C of E Church, Ryhope Road, Grangetown on Sunday 18th January 2015 at 3.00pm. Refreshments will be served after the service.

Fundraising Office: St. Benedict’s Hospice, St. Benedict’s Way, Ryhope, Sunderland, SR2 0NY Telephone: 0191 5128436 • Email: [email protected] www.stbenedicts.co.uk