Frequently Asked Questions

What services does St Wilfrid’s provide?
What does palliative care mean?
What is St Wilfrid’s catchment area?
How can a patient be referred to St Wilfrid’s?
What about illnesses other than cancer?
What do the St Wilfrid’s community nurses do?
What is specialist palliative care?
Does everyone who goes into St Wilfrid’s die?
Are all St Wilfrid’s patients admitted to the hospice?
Why do you have an education unit?
Does it cost anything for the services?
Where does St Wilfrid's get its money?
Why is St Wilfrid's actively promoting legacy giving?
I heard you have money sitting in the bank doing nothing. Is this true?

When is the right time to give a donation after the death of a loved one?

What services does St Wilfrid’s provide?

We provide care to people who have problems with the symptoms of advanced illnesses, who have a need for symptom control, or for care when they are very sick and dying. There are 15 in-patient rooms, but most of our patients (about 210 at any one time) are living at home supported by our community team, their GP and district nurse, and other carers. We have a day hospice open three days a week to which some patients come. There are many patients in St Richard’s Hospital who are cared for by our medical team and the hospital specialist palliative care nurses. Our patients’ family and carers are equally important to us, and we are able to offer some services to them including bereavement support.

What does palliative care mean?

Hospices call the care they provide “palliative care”. This means we look after the symptoms of illness, rather than try to cure the illness. The care of our patients as people is central to providing palliative care and we address a person’s emotional, social and spiritual needs as well as their physical needs. The Royal College of Physicians regulates the training of doctors in palliative medicine and all our consultants are on the specialist register. All our senior nurses, and other professionals, have had advanced training in palliative care and are specialists in their own right.

What is St Wilfrid’s catchment area?

Any person who has a GP based in a practice south of The Downs from Emsworth to Arundel is eligible to be referred regardless of where they live. In addition, from 2006, our catchment area for in-patients and day care only was extended to include the areas around Midhurst, Petworth, Pulborough and Loxwood. Community specialist palliative care for those patients is provided by the Midhurst-based Macmillan Team.

How can a patient be referred to St Wilfrid’s?

Patients must be referred by their GP, hospital consultant or hospital Macmillan Nurse. If you think a referral should be made and has not been you should talk to one of these people.

We do not take referrals directly from patients or their families, but it may possible for a concerned relative or patient to speak to one of the hospice medical team who can then advise what to do next.

What about illnesses other than cancer?

Referrals to St Wilfrid’s services is open to people with cancer, motor neurone disease and other terminal illnesses, for example heart failure or chronic lung disease.

What do the St Wilfrid’s community nurses do?

Our community nurses are called St Wilfrid’s Hospice Clinical Nurse Specialists (CNSs). In some other parts of the country the same work is done by nurses who are called Macmillan Nurses. Our CNS team members visit people in their homes and provide advice on symptom control and how to cope with the problems an illness can bring. The CNS team liaise very closely with a patient’s GP or district nurse. Hands-on care is normally provided by the district nurses and social services carers.

What is specialist palliative care?

Healthcare workers in hospitals and the community can provide basic palliative care. Hospices provide services for the people who need our specialist, expert services – hence “specialist palliative care”. For example, not everyone living locally with advanced cancer needs to be referred to us.

Does everyone who goes into St Wilfrid’s die?

No. About 40% of our patients are admitted for symptom and pain control and are then discharged home.

What is the average length of admission to St Wilfrid’s?

Around twelve days. We have no pre-determined length of stay, and people stay as long as they need our specialist services.

Are all St Wilfrid’s patients admitted to the hospice?

No. Around a third of our patients are never admitted. Indeed only about half our patients are hospice in-patients when they die. We also are involved in caring for lots of people who die at home, hospital or in nursing homes.

Why do you have an education unit?

We provide training in all aspects of palliative care to local healthcare workers. We know it would not be possible, or right, for us to provide all the palliative care locally, but in this way can support the care of people right across the area.

Does it cost anything for the services?

There is no charge for any service provided by St Wilfrid's. We can sometimes make a claim against a person’s private health insurance, so do tell us if you have such a policy. If a patient or family member chooses to make a donation it is always very much appreciated.

Where does St Wilfrid's get its money?

St Wilfrid's has an annual operating budget of nearly £3.6 million for 2006-2007. As an independent charity, St Wilfrid's Hospice is not part of the NHS, and this year we will receive only about 12% of our expenditure from the NHS. The remaining money must be raised through voluntary donations, fund-raising activities, our shops, investments, legacies and the work of our support groups based in the local community.

Why is St Wilfrid's actively promoting legacy giving?

Legacy giving is an important part of our income but legacies are decreasing across the charitable sector and we need to ensure people remember us in their wills. Leaving a legacy, which will be invested to produce a secure income stream for St Wilfrid’s, is one way to make a lasting difference to the future care of people.

I heard you have money sitting in the bank doing nothing. Is this true?

No. By law, charities need to have general reserves in case funding ceases, and these investments would ensure that our patient care services could continue in the short term while the financial problems were sorted out. The income we receive from investments provides a regular income stream, and over the years we have been able to invest many of the legacies we have received.

When is the right time to give a donation after the death of a loved one?

There is no right or wrong time - this depends on how each individual feels. Often families and friends choose to ask for donations to the Hospice instead of flowers at a funeral and this can bring comfort to those left behind. For some people it may be on the anniversary of a death, or on the anniversary of a celebration that it feels like the right time to give a donation in memory of a loved one no longer with us. Whatever the time, St Wilfrid's Hospice is always grateful for the thought and the care.