Category: Hospice News
Hundreds take part in breathtaking Torchlight Procession
Yesterday, Tuesday 22nd November, hundreds of people came together in the historic uphill area of Lincoln for the annual St Barnabas Hospice Light up a Life – Torchlight Procession, in remembrance of loved ones.
The Procession was led by the RAF Waddington Pipe band, with people of all ages following whilst holding flaming torches and light-up lanterns. Together, they walked the route from Clayton’s Sports Grounds to Lincoln Cathedral, creating a beautiful atmosphere that saw many supporters feeling visibly emotional as they paid tribute to those no longer with us.
As is tradition for the Procession, a brief stop took place at the Hospice’s Inpatient Unit on Nettleham Road, where a lone piper started a moving rendition of Amazing Grace before being joined in by the rest of the band. Patients, staff, and volunteers at the Inpatient Unit were able to enjoy this emotive display from the comfort of the recently refurbished Hospice building.
Once the Procession arrived at the Lincoln Cathedral several representatives of St Barnabas Hospice, delivered short speeches. Chief Executive Chris Wheway said: “This is my eighth year, and it never ceases to be such an amazing, powerful experience.
“I was thinking of the statement ‘the price of love is grief’ and it’s an honour that you would share that with us. By coming together, as a community we are standing tall and we are standing with the people we have lost. They never leave us, they are always with us, in our hearts and in every part of our life.
“We are honoured to serve you and be with you when you are at your most vulnerable. We believe that good palliative care is a human right and I stand by that. Thank you all for tonight, for being here with us and sharing this moment.”
Attendees were able to write Messages of Love and tie them to the railings of the 30-foot Tree of Life outside Lincoln Cathedral, sending a special message to the loved ones they will never forget.
In attendance was the Lyon family from S Lyon and Son, who through St Barnabas shared their story of losing their much-loved daughter, mother, sister, and friend Sharon. Upon the Procession’s arrival, Sharon’s sister-in-law Sally Lyon brought the flaming torch forward from the crowd to the front of the Cathedral and lit the ceremonial torch that burned throughout the service.
Louise Cotton, Fundraising Officer, and project lead for the Torchlight Procession, said: “This is such a poignant event, and it has been an incredibly moving evening.
“It means a lot to the people of Lincolnshire, and us at St Barnabas, to be able to come together in remembrance and reflect on those no longer with us. Many of our supporters have been attending the Procession for years, and it’s wonderful to see them bring along their children or grandchildren.
“We encourage those who were unable to attend the Torchlight Procession to visit the Tree of Life for a moment of reflection, which will be outside the Cathedral until early January.
“We want to thank everyone who walked the Procession or supported us via Light up a Life dedications, your support really makes a difference in our mission to support people living with a life-limiting or terminal illness all across the county.”
For the past month, St Barnabas have encouraged members of the community to dedicate a light in the name of a loved one lost through their Light up a Life appeal and these dedicated lights now shine brightly on the Tree of Life.
This appeal will stay open throughout the whole festive period, with supporters receiving a personalised handwritten card, a star-shaped tree decoration and a digital tribute to share on their social media pages to spread the word about their dedication.
To dedicate a light, visit: https://stbarnabashospice.co.uk/light-up-a-life
So far, Light up a Life has raised over £33,658, and St Barnabas thank everyone who has dedicated a light, walked in the Torchlight Procession, or donated to their cause.
Louise adds: “Each year Light up a Life is supported far beyond what we could ever imagine by individuals, the local community, businesses and organisations, for which we are forever grateful. Without this support we simply couldn’t do what we do, so thank you to all.”
With special thanks to all volunteers, runners, stewards, Doddington Hall & Gardens, Allen Signs, Lincoln Cathedral, Our Lady of Lincoln Church, City of Lincoln Council Maintenance Services, Continental Landscapes, S. Lyon & Son Haulage Ltd, BBC Radio Lincolnshire, Lincolnshire Police, Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue, RAF Waddington Pipe Band, TSS Events, Taylor Lindsey, Stamford Sound Hire, Bates Sound, Flying Hire Ltd, Lindum Rotary Club, Lincoln Christ’s Hospital School, Annie Griffith and her Community Choirs, The Towel Hotel, Mr and Mrs N Kirk, Ruddocks, St. Mary Magdalene’s, Lincolnshire Co op, Davis Trackhire, The Subdean and Chapter of Lincoln Cathedral, Community 4×4 Response in Lincolnshire, SRP Hire Solutions, Kurnia Aerial Photography and Highways and Planning.
Photography by Andrew Scott, Kurnia Aerial Photography and Stuart Wilde
St Barnabas Hospice Inpatient Unit reopens after renovation
The Hospice’s Inpatient Unit on Nettleham Road in Lincoln has reopened its doors after several months of refurbishment works which started in the summer.
On Friday 11th November an exclusive reopening event took place to officially mark the occasion, with the first patients admitted to the Hospice from today, 14th November.
The 150-year-old building required essential maintenance and St Barnabas took this opportunity to implement a series of modern features to further improve the quality of comfort to patients and create a homely and cosy ambience. This includes a beautiful skylight feature in the stairway, restful images, opened-up spaces, new furniture and lighting, and much more.
The reopening event was attended by special guests including John Turner, Chief Executive of the NHS Lincolnshire Integrated Care Board (ICB), who officially reopened the building.
Mr Turner said: “I am delighted to be here today and offer support to the Hospice on behalf of myself and the NHS. St Barnabas have a fantastic track record of being really significant partners in our efforts to give the best health and care we can across the whole county. The Hospice cares for people and their families during the most difficult times of their lives, and I take my hat off to all staff and volunteers.”
Chris Wheway, Chief Executive of St Barnabas Hospice, said in his welcome speech: “The new environment is carefully designed around our vision of high-quality, dignified, and compassionate care. We are now taking patients referrals through their healthcare professionals, and we look forward to again give outstanding care to those who need it in our community. This has been a long journey with a lot of work involved and we want to extend a big thank you to our contractors Miller Knight, who have been superb.”
Picture below: L-R John Turner and Chris Wheway
Matthew Flower, Regeneration Director at Miller Knight, said: “As a business we are passionate about supporting St Barnabas and the charity means a lot to me personally on many levels. This facility is so important to the community, and the refurbishment had to be done right. We worked hard, and we are proud that we delivered a great result on time.”
Vic Haskell, owner of air-conditioning company Haskell & Co, was invited to attend the event and take a look around the refurbished building. He kindly donated and fitted two air-con units, after being moved by the outstanding care his partner received in the Hospice last year.
Vic says: “It was summer, and the room my partner Diane stayed in did not have air-conditioning, so it got quite hot. The care she received was ‘true care’, the nursing staff were totally amazing. There was always somebody on hand to help her and nothing was too much trouble. I can’t praise them enough, simple as that.
“Air-conditioning is my business and I thought this was the best way to help St Barnabas. The value of these units and the installation is about £7,000 and I’m very happy to have been able to support the Hospice and further improve the comfort of their patients. After my experience, St Barnabas is now my company’s preferred charity.”
The care at the Inpatient Unit is available free of charge to patients in Lincolnshire who require around-the-clock care. Referrals to the Hospice can only be made via healthcare professionals– please contact your GP or other medical provider for more information.
Would you like to make a real difference to patients, their visitors, and carers? St Barnabas are looking for Ward Volunteers who can help serve patients meals and drinks, keep nutritional diaries, and maintain a tidy environment, amongst other vital tasks.
If you are interested in this voluntary role, please find more information and apply by downloading the job description here.
Happy 40th Anniversaries: Lincoln Christmas Market chooses St Barnabas as Charity Partner
St Barnabas Hospice are delighted to have been chosen by City of Lincoln Council to be the Lincoln Christmas Market’s very first Charity Partner. Both organisations are celebrating their 40th anniversary this year and have been highly regarded and much loved by the local communities for all those years.
Taking place from Thursday 1st to Sunday 4th December in the beautiful and historic Bailgate area, the Lincoln Christmas Market welcomes hundreds of thousands visitors every year and is one of the most loved events in Lincolnshire.
St Barnabas will be in attendance, occupying a traditional wooden cabin by the Lincoln Cathedral where the charity will have their annual Tree of Life on full display. The Tree of Life is part of the Hospice’s Light Up a Life campaign, which sees families and friends join together to remember loved ones they have lost. The charity’s Torchlight Procession will take place a week before the Christmas Market on 22nd November.
The Hospice is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year and are proud to help over 12,000 people across Lincolnshire each year by providing free, compassionate, dignified palliative and end-of-life care, as well as wellbeing services such as bereavement support, counselling, and welfare and benefits advice.
Veronica McBain, Head of Fundraising and Lottery at St Barnabas says: “It is serendipitous that both St Barnabas and the Lincoln Christmas Market are celebrating a 40th anniversary this year.
“We will be selling a selection of amazing items including our special anniversary Est.1982 Ruby Gin and Ruby Rum created by Pin Gin, our bespoke Ruby Coffee blend by The Lincoln Tea & Coffee Company, a range of Christmas cards, baubles, tickets to the special Morriston Choir concert at the Cathedral in March, and much more. We will also gratefully accept any donations through our bucket collection.
“We sincerely thank the City of Lincoln Council for choosing us, it means the world to us to have the support of the Council and local communities. We look forward to an extra special Christmas Market and hope to see many of our supporters there.”
Cllr Neil Murray, Portfolio Holder for Inclusive Economic Growth at City of Lincoln Council added: “It is an incredible special year for us at the Lincoln Christmas Market and we are proud to welcome St Barnabas as our first Christmas Market Charity Partner as we both celebrate 40 years.
“Lincoln Christmas Market started with just 11 stalls and is now a very well recognised event not only across the county but the country.
“To celebrate 40 years, we have a host of new elements to the market, including a new stage area, a special opening ceremony at Noon on the first day of the market and of course, our first charity partnership.
“I look forward to welcoming visitors to what we hope will be the best Christmas market yet.”
Lincoln IPU Refurbishment and Re-opening Update
St Barnabas Hospice is pleased to announce that the planned works to refurbish the Inpatient Unit has reached its conclusion.
Miller Knight and colleagues have worked well to keep the project on track.
The IPU Team are now working together to ensure we have a smooth transition to final completion. The unit is looking bright and modern but continues to offer a warm, welcoming, homely feel that will enhance the experience of patients, visitors, and staff.
Plans are in place to ensure we can reopen to patient admissions in the safest way possible. Staff will be returning from their placements over the next two weeks and equipment, medicines and supplies reinstated.
As such, we envisage that the work will be fully complete for us to accept referrals from the afternoon of Friday 11th November, with admissions accepted from Monday 14th November.
How to refer to the Inpatient Unit
Our trusted referral process remains unchanged; as such, they can be submitted via SystmOne (and tasking ‘IPU referrals’ to notify the team) or by completion of the referral proforma which should be emailed to ipureferrals@stbarnabashospice.co.uk
For urgent referrals, please call the team on 01522 511566.
The team are looking forward to welcoming our patients and families.
St Barnabas chosen as Charity of the Year by Fenner Precision and James Dawson
St Barnabas Hospice is delighted to announce they have been chosen as Charity of the Year by Lincoln-based manufacturers Fenner Precision and James Dawson.
The silicone and rubber experts are committed to supporting local communities and charities through its Works Council initiative, which chooses a charity to support.
The business has been based in Lincoln since 1865 with over 300 employees across two sites, where fundraising events will be taking place throughout the year.
Caroline Swindin, Fundraising Development Manager at St Barnabas Hospice, said: “We are very grateful to Fenner Prescision and James Dawson for choosing to support our charity.
“They have such a strong local presence, and it’s wonderful partnering with such a widely regarded business. No doubt some staff members will have had personal experience with our Hospice and we hope their positive experiences will help drive their fundraising efforts.
“We provide a diverse range of services to our local communities, and we would not be able to continue our work without the generous donations of our supporters. Every pound that gets donated really makes a difference, so thank you to Fenner Precision and James Dawson for choosing us.”
Natasha Fryer, Customs Export Manager at Fenner Precision and James Dawson said: “We are really pleased to be supporting St Barnabas, as supporting a local charity was one of my main aims and I’m happy the Works Council board voted for St Barnabas.
“We’ve got loads of activities planned to help raise as much as we can throughout the year!”
For every pound raised for St Barnabas, 74p goes straight towards delivering, and improving the care and support the charity offers to over 12,000 people every year. The other 26p goes towards generating future income.
Many thanks to all Fenner Precision and James Dawson staff who are set to help raise vital funds for their local Hospice.
Lincoln IPU Refurbishment and Re-opening Update
The Ward Manager with colleagues from the Estates Team attended the Inpatient Unit site this week for a snagging walk round. Work on the unit is moving at pace and currently on schedule.
The patient areas are nearing completion and improvements will bring an extra dimension to the patient and family experience.
There is improved lighting, new bedhead trunking, and a huge improvement to the overall aesthetics of the building.
The already outstanding care received on the Unit will be further enhanced by improvements made to the ward area and care environment.
Changes to the staff areas, including a reconfigured clinical room and ward office, will further increase safety, improve workflow, and ensure the unit is fit for our team of skilled specialists.
A particularly aesthetic feature which has been added to the reception area will enhance the sense of peace and wellbeing when the unit is accessed by visitors, patients, and staff. The diffused light cast by the decal added to the glass atrium will complement the décor and overall welcoming feel, enhancing the sense of calm.
How to access support and refer patients for Specialist Palliative Care
As a reminder to all our colleagues in Lincolnshire the advice line number for specialist palliative care is 0300 303 1754, please just give us a call we will be happy to help.
The next update will be published the week of 10th October 2022.
Mayor of Louth officially reopens Wellbeing Centre
Wednesday 21st September 2022 saw the grand reopening of the St Barnabas Hospice Wellbeing Centre in Louth, which has been closed to patients since the very first Covid-19 lockdown in 2020.
The celebrations were attended by local businesses and organisations, staff, volunteers, supporters and special guests Mayor of Louth, Cllr Jeremy Baskett and his wife, the Mayoress Bridget Baskett.
Not only did the festivities include a look around the refurbished Wellbeing Centre, formerly known as the Day Therapy Centre, but it also marked the official opening of the renewed sensory garden. The therapeutic sensory garden, designed by local landscape gardener Caroline Stanley and Riseholme College students, was first showcased at the Lincolnshire Show earlier this year, where it won Highly Commended. 
Elements of this beautiful garden have now been laid into the existing garden of the Wellbeing Centre for patients and their families to enjoy. The existing Louth garden was designed by Caitlin McLaughlin and displayed at Tatton Park RHS show in 2016.
Mayor of Louth, Cllr Jeremy Baskett, commented: “Today I have the honour of officially opening the Wellbeing Centre and its beautiful new garden, and it is great to see so many people here today to mark the occasion.
“I come from a healthcare background, and the way St Barnabas operates is the way of the future; providing healthcare not just from a base such as this fantastic Wellbeing Centre, but also offering care in the community and people’s homes. St Barnabas has a great reputation, and rightly so.”
Throughout the day, St Barnabas staff were on hand for tours of the building. The Wellbeing Centre is not just a site where patients can receive medical appointments, advice, and care; it is intended as a community hub for all local people, volunteers, and staff to come together, find support in one another and enjoy socialising.
The Centre has multiple therapy rooms and large spaces that nurses, patients and families can use for a wide variety of services. It also boasts a Hub space with comfortable chairs and a kitchenette, which will be open for visitors to drop in every Thursday morning from 6th October and enjoy a free-of-charge coffee morning.
The Wellbeing Centre hopes to restart the services offered before the pandemic, including arts and crafts therapies, gardening, gentle exercise classes, and much more. To help make these ideas a reality, St Barnabas is looking to recruit volunteers who can help deliver these valuable services to the community.
Steve Bond, Head of Volunteering, comments: “Volunteering is a great way of giving back to the community, gaining new skills, and meeting interesting people. Our volunteers often stay on to support us for years as they enjoy it so much!”
Local distillery Pin Gin was in attendance at the reopening, offering visitors tasters of the special rum and gin flavours they recently created to commemorate the charity’s 40th anniversary. The Ruby Gin and Ruby Rum are available to purchase from the Pin Gin website at £35 per bottle, with £14 of each sale donated straight to St Barnabas.
Warm beverages were provided by Lincoln Tea & Coffee Company. The company has partnered with St Barnabas on their Care for a Cuppa campaign, which was represented at the reopening by St Barnabas’ Fundraising Officer, Ellie Carter. Ellie baked a variety of delicious cakes to sell to the attendees on the day and raise money for the charity.
Care for a Cuppa is a feel-good fundraising initiative that encourages supporters to put the kettle on and host a coffee morning/bake sale to raise vital funds for their local Hospice. People who sign up receive a free fundraising pack including bunting, cake flags, games, posters and two delicious recipes by renowned Lincolnshire chef Rachel Green.
To find out more and host your own Care for a Cuppa, visit https://stbarnabashospice.co.uk/care-for-a-cuppa/
St Barnabas Hospice is thankful to everyone who attended the successful reopening of the Wellbeing Centre in Louth and would like to encourage volunteers and the general public to get in touch to get involved in upcoming services. Please email enquiries@stbarnabashospice.co.uk to find out more.
If you are interested in joining us in Louth as a volunteer, please visit our website: https://stbarnabashospice.co.uk/get-involved/volunteer/
Chief Executive Chris Wheway’s tribute to Queen Elizabeth II
If you are struggling with feelings of grief triggered by the death of the Queen, our Bereavement Helpline is open on weekdays between 11am – 3pm and can be rang on 0300 303 1897, and our bereavement support team can be contacted on 01522 518246.
Lincoln IPU Refurbishment and Re-opening Update
The refurbishment work on our Inpatient Unit in Lincoln is going smoothly, and we are on track for completion mid October and reopening the Unit to patients and their families in November.
Watch the video below to hear from Sue Carter, Ward Manager at the Inpatient Unit (IPU) and take a look at how the work is coming along.
How to access support and refer patients for Specialist Palliative Care
The advice line number for specialist palliative care is 0300 303 1754, please just give us a call we will be happy to help.
The next update will be published the week of Monday 19th September 2022
Pick up great bargains at the Kilo Sale on Saturday 24th September
St Barnabas Hospice will be holding its very first Pop Up Kilo Sale event on Saturday 24th September at the Waterside Shopping Centre in Lincoln.
Attendees can ditch fast fashion by discovering fantastic pre-loved vintage, retro, and unique clothing and accessories, as well as support a great local charity at the same time.
Access to the event is free, with donations to St Barnabas gratefully accepted. There are no tickets to buy, just come along on the day between 10am and 3pm.
There will be rails upon rails of high-quality bargains for shoppers to choose from, simply load up a bag, bring it to the till and pay. The cost per kilo is just £10, less than many other Kilo Sale events that are held in Lincoln. Payments can be made via cash or card and there is no minimum spend.
Caroline Peach, Head of Retail at St Barnabas Hospice says: “We can’t wait to welcome all you savvy shoppers to buy sustainable slow fashion that is not just good for the planet, but for your wallet too!
“Everyone is feeling the squeeze of the cost of living crisis, and shopping at our charity shops or attending events like this helps you save money and update your wardrobe – as well as feeling good about supporting a local cause.
“We have organised this Kilo Sale to take place during the Sustainable Fashion Week, so many people are looking to make better choices and go for slow fashion and keeping clothes out of landfill.”
If you would like to donate items to be sold at the Kilo Sale, please bring your items to the Forum shop in North Hykeham, open from Monday to Sunday.
The Sustainable Fashion Week (SFW) takes place from 16th to 25th September 2022 and is the first fashion week of its kind, with four themes: Rewear, Repurpose, Regenerate and Reconnect. Its focus is not on next season’s trends but instead on up-skilling, inspiring and empowering the community.
St Barnabas Hospice has 25 shops across Lincolnshire, as well as an online shop, an eBay page and Depop account. Find your local St Barnabas shop here: www.stbarnabashospice.co.uk/shop