Helen Moreton

St Leonard's Hospice

St Leonard's Hospice is an independent charity, providing specialist palliative care and support for local people with life limiting illnesses. We have an In-patient Unit, Sunflower Centre and Hospice@Home service. In this relaxed and friendly environment, every patient is recognised and treated as an individual. With our support patients are able to enjoy the best possible quality of life. Our care also extends to support families and carers. In addition to a team of highly experienced doctors and nurses, we have specialists in a wide range of roles including complementary therapy, lymphoedema care, physiotherapy, social work, bereavement, occupational therapy and spiritual care. Our care is free of charge to patients and their families but not free to provide. As a charity we rely heavily on the generosity of the public to help raise just over £5 million it costs each year to run St Leonard's Hospice. This equates to £574 for every hour of every day. Although St Leonard's does get some public funding the majority of the running costs have to be raised from donations and fundraising by the local community - businesses, groups and individuals. Legacies are by far our greatest source of income.