A Message from Woking and Sam Beare Hospices
Woking Hospice opened in Hill View Road, Woking in December 1996 to provide specialist palliative care, advice and support people with life limiting and terminal illnesses in Surrey. Rhod Lofting the Mayor of Woking at the time fundraised to build the Hospice and also the first years running costs.
In 2006, the Sam Beare Unit in Weybridge Hospital was under the threat of closure, and a public consultation was held. The public strongly voted to retain the service in Weybridge, and therefore Woking Hospice were chosen by the PCT to manage the service as an independent charity. It was re- named Sam Beare Hospice and opened in August 2006 under Woking Hospice management.
With both Hospices we now cover a large area incorporating the Boroughs of Woking, Surrey Heath, North Guildford, Runnymede, Elmbridge, and Spelthorne. This vital service costs in excess of £5.4million per year to run and we are therefore dependant on the community we serve to fund our essential work.
The Hospices offer an atmosphere of peace and hope to ensure that patients feel safe and secure and offer the following services and facilities:
- Medical Care
- In-patient bedded units with en-suite facilities
- Day Care units
- Community Clinical Nurse Specialists
- Counselling Team
- Chaplaincy Team
The Medical team and support staff provide specialised, multi disciplinary care for each patient on an individual basis. All services are provided free of charge and we receive minimal contributions from the NHS, and the majority of funding comes from donations, fundraising activities and our retail shops.
Proceeds from last year’s Pedal4charity, a massive £33,117.42, went towards the Hospices joint Emergency Appeal. For a while, the highly praised Day Care service at Woking and Sam Beare had to be suspended due to lack of funds, and it was missed terribly by patients and their families. The community rallied round and with events such as this, we are delighted to report that Day Care has now been fully re-instated at both Hospices.
Woking & Sam Beare Hospices survived an emergency – but we still need every £ that can be raised. Each month it costs around £450,000 to run both Hospices and offer support to local families in their darkest days.
For more information about the care that we provide, please visit our website www.wsbhospices.co.uk.
Good luck to the Pedal4charity 2011 team!