The Diana Princess of Wales Care at Home Trust’s funding of a Diana Nurse for the provision of hospice at home services is making a “huge difference” – says Christine Bloomer, community services manager of Hospice Isle of Man, who manages the service on behalf of the Hospice Isle of Man.
“Having the Diana Nurse has been a great help. In 2012 the hospice at home service delivered 714 hours and already in 2013 a total of 711 hours has been delivered. For example, recently the service was able to help support a patient leaving Noble’s who wanted to return home rather than be admitted to hospice or remain in hospital. We were able to call on the Diana Nurse to deliver appropriate out-of-hours nursing support to the patient and of course their family to help that patient be as comfortable as possible in their own home.”
Chairman of the Trust Ron Spencer said: “I would like to thank everyone who supports the Trust and am delighted we can present a further ?10,000 towards the service, following our donation of ?20,000 in the Spring of 2013. We worked hard to achieve the initial funding of a Diana Nurse and, with a target of ?50,000 per year, are seeking to raise a further ?20,000 this year.
“Surveys show that around half of those questioned state that they would prefer to die at home but only less than a quarter actually do so, so demand for the service will increase going forwards and we will continue to work to improve and maximise the funding we can make available to this invaluable service.”
With a further ?50k target for 2014 the Diana Trust welcomes any offers from companies who might consider them as one of their ‘charities of the year’ for 2014 and beyond. For further information please visit the Trust’s website www.hospiceathome.im
Photograph: left to right: Jennifer Houghton and Johnny Kipps – Diana Trust fundraising committee; Mrs Margaret Simpson, Chief Executive - Hospice Isle of Man; Ron Spencer, Chairman – Diana Trust; Christine Bloomer, Community Services Manager-Hospice Isle of Man. Photo credit: Steve Babb.
