Scottish Catholic Observer

In life, we often look outside ourselves for inspiration. This month, the Women’s Guild of St Anne’s Church in Dennistoun, held their Summer Fayre in the parish to support the work of St Margaret of Scotland Hospice. The first time they fundraised for the hospice was 25 years ago, in a similar way. The hospice is the first charity they supported and, in the past 25 years, they have raised funds for other groups, organisations and individuals.

The Women’s Guild asked for a representative from the hospice to attend their meeting in early June to tell them about our work. There have been some new members in the Women’s Guild in the past 25 years, since Sr Rita, the hospice chief executive, visited their group in 1989 to tell them of the work of the hospice. In that time, some of the members have had relatives and friends cared for in St Margaret’s.

This group of ladies have worked over many years as a team, and this weekend shared the task in fundraising for the hospice. They will continue their fundraising over the summer months by promoting a raffle in the parish.

The members of St Anne’s Women’s Guild were interested in how we manage to continue to raise the funds that we require to continue to provide services at the Hospice and it was explained that it is with supporters such as themselves, individuals, businesses, groups, charitable trusts and organisations—the many people who continue to help the hospice.

In addition, they were informed of the events we organise, for example, a five-a-side football tournament on August 17, the Ladies’ Only 5K Midnight Walk (open to 8 to 16 year olds accompanied by a responsible adult) on September 6, the Annual Ball on October 4, a grand car raffle, which will be drawn on December 9 and the hospice Christmas Bus—which tours the local areas—and of all the support we receive from the people who attend or donate to these events or activities.

Also, our hospice shops, which generate a regular income for the hospice and our recently established hospice lottery—a monthly draw with a subscription of £5 per month—offers a first prize of £2000. The ladies were delighted to hear of the lottery and some have since joined, which is great news for the hospice.

The hospice lottery is one way of helping to share in fundraising to enable the hospice to continue to deliver all the services it provides.

The opportunity to establish a monthly direct debit will also soon be available—a new way for the hospice to try to generate a regular income. We already have many people who have supported the hospice over years by standing order, and for this we are extremely grateful. This method of payment will continue. We hope new people will help via a monthly direct debit of £5, which will make a great difference to the hospice’s income stream.

So, how would £5 a month make a difference to the hospice? Well, each year the running costs are in excess of £4 million—half of which we receive from the local health board and half of which we must raise. So, every week we must raise over £30,000 to achieve the required funds, which is a huge challenge.

As a result of this, we are looking at new ways to generate regular income and we hope many will feel inspired to help us, because if we work as a group of donors of regular giving of £5 per month—either through the hospice lottery or a direct debit, this would help considerably to share in providing the care services available.

At St Margaret of Scotland Hospice we offer the essential items of care and the items or activities which add to the quality of life of the patients in our care. These patients can either be In-patients, day hospice patients or patients who are living in the community and benefit from our community specialist palliative care services and out-patient clinics.

The hospice is a busy place. Every week, we meet new patients, new families and friends, who require our support and help—be it for a short stay for symptom control or for end of life care.

All our patients are living with a life-limiting illness. Some have cancer and others have other conditions, for example, Motor Neurone Disease and MS. All of our patients have one thing in common—they are in need of our care when they are at their most vulnerable.

We have 58 in-patient beds in the hospice—30 for specialist palliative care and 28 for care of the older adult with complex medical and nursing needs.

At the hospice we work with the core values of the Sisters of Charity at the forefront of our minds: respect for human dignity, compassion, quality of care and service, justice and care of the poor and vulnerable.

The Sisters of Charity opened the hospice in Clydebank in 1950 with the support of the local community, organisations and businesses. It is the first hospice to have opened in Scotland and for 64 years has been providing the same high standard of care. The hospice reaches out to all those who are in need of care—it is open to everyone.

The care we offer to those in need is wide-ranging—it is known as ‘holistic care’—care of the whole person. We look after the emotional, physical, spiritual, social and psychological needs of the patient, whilst supporting the patient’s family and carers.

The hospice has a multidisciplinary team including specialist doctors, nurses, social worker, physiotherapist, occupational therapist, complementary therapist, community specialist palliative care nurses, counsellors and art therapist. We also have chaplains.

We have Mass every day in the hospice and a Church of Scotland service each Wednesday. Spiritual and Pastoral support is so very necessary for the patients, regardless of which faith group the patient belongs, if any. We provide counselling to our patients, their families and friends, also bereavement support and memorial Services.

At the hospice, we know the joy of remembering those who have inspired us to keep going in the work we do, in remembering those who have helped and supported over many years to share in the care provided.

The hospice has been supported since it opened 64 years ago, by people who wished for the greater good….the best care at end of life. Over the years, not one individual has achieved that, but a huge group of people who have worked collectively to support the hospice. That is what we require—regular giving by people who are inspired to share in caring for others.

The Women’s Guild gave inspiration. This group of ladies have met on a Wednesday evening for more than 25 years and have possessed drive and commitment to achieve their goals. They have worked full circle in their charity book, back to their starting point from 25 years ago and we were fortunate they chose St Margaret of Scotland Hospice to benefit again. As a group, they have achieved much and we are very grateful.

If the journey of a thousand miles begins with one step, the journey of £30,000 can begin with one donation.

- For further information on the Hospice events or how to make a donation, please contact the Hospice on 0141 952 1141 or visit our website www.smh.org.uk