Wicklow Hospice �� You did it! Community Fundraising Reaches €2.5m. T he people of Wicklow have donated a massive €2.5 Million and are well on way to achieving our target. Fundraising for Wicklow Hospice has been going on now for over three years and during that time there has been a huge range of events all over the county. Christy Moore could make a song out of this. We have had a skydiving granny, pre school hill walkers, boats rowed from Wales to Ireland, kayaks in the opposite direction, lads cycling from Arklow to Biarritz, and many other events. busmen walking, vintage car rallies, vintage tractor rallies, sunﬂower days and Christmas fairs. We have sold crystal decorations and Christmas cards. Gun clubs and soccer clubs, rugby, golf and GAA clubs have all been brilliant. Supporters have organized big birthdays, recipe books, bag packs, art sales, Harp recitals, strings pulled, Halloween fairs, parish fetes, pub quizzes, leg waxing and dinner dancing. Ok the dinner did not dance but there was dancing after the dinner. Thanks to all the volunteers, event organizers who gave their time freely to make this possible. Thanks to you the generous donors who are helping our community partner with health service providers to ensure that Wicklow people have dignity and comfort at end of life. Brendan Cuddihy, Chairman, on behalf of Wicklow Hospice Foundation Committee. A lake of coffee has been consumed at coffee mornings, afternoon teas, ICA gifts and bridge evenings. There have been sponsored shaves, non uniform days, carols and concerts, fashion shows and marathon runners by the hundreds. We have had Victorian ﬁeld days, Bray summer fest, golf outings, (note: All funds raised to date are placed on deposit. The Foundation is a registered charity and audited accounts are available to the public on request by emailing [email protected]) Daniel Day-Lewis Donates “Lincoln” Premiere to Wicklow Hospice A ctor Daniel Day-Lewis, generously donated the international movie premiere of his Oscar winning performance in the blockbuster “Lincoln”, to help fund the building of the long-awaited Hospice for Co. Wicklow. Steven Spielberg donated several props (including Lincoln’s white gloves, handmade knife and miniature soldiers featured in the movie) for auction at the Gala Dinner attended by Steven Spielberg, Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field and a host of celebrities - including Bono, the Edge, Sinead O’Connor, Shane McGowan, Jim Sheridan, Chris De Daniel Day-Lewis and Steven Spielberg Burgh, Katie Taylor and Barry McGuigan. It was a fantastic day and evening for over 1000 supporters of the Wicklow Hospice Building Project. In addition to raising over €250,000 the extensive media coverage created huge national awareness of the need to address the paucity of hospice services in County Wicklow. Daniel is a patron of the Wicklow Hospice Foundation. Several props made for the movie, and autographed by Daniel Day Lewis and Steven Spielberg, have been donated to the Wicklow Hospice Foundation for auction, including Lincoln’s white gloves and a replica of Lincoln’s penknife. T The Hospice Building Project he site for the Wicklow Hospice, donated by the Columban Sisters, overlooks the sea at Magheramore just outside Wicklow town With €2.5m. raised to date, outline planning permission in progress we are preparing to have a sod-turning cermony in the early summer of 2013. The Foundation has entered an operation agreement with a highly reputable voluntary specialist health service provider, St John of Gods, with wide ranging experience of inpatient care of the frail older persons. We are hopeful that the Government’s commitment to funding approved health facilities by a system of “the money follows the patient” will enable Wicklow Hospice services to recover the ongoing costs of providing hospice care. The Hospice was initially included in HSE plans in 2009 for completion in 2012. Building blocks for the Wicklow Hospice Hospice site at Magheramore, Donated by Columban Sisters Progress to date: • Secured an ideal coastal site for the hospice at Magheramore just outside Wicklow town which was generously donated by the Columban Sisters. This location has been assessed and approved as suitable by HSE Estates. Completed tendering process for the appointment of project architects. (Stephen Tierney, Architects have been appointed – they are the architects on a 24 bed long stay nursing home currently under construction at the same site). A submission for outline planning permission is currently in preparation. • Developer and lawyer, Noel Smyth has been advising the project team and has agreed to take on the role of honorary building project manager on behalf of the foundation. Noel has extensive experience of major building projects and was responsible for ﬁnancing and building Blackrock Hospice. • We have consulted widely with other hospices on design best practice to ensure that we learn from the experience of others and can give state of the art guidance to the building project team. How To Access The Palliative Care Service In The Community T he easiest and most direct way to access palliative care within your area is through your G.P. Your G.P in most situations will understand the need of the patient and family to have as much support as possible and G.P’s work closely with the Clinical Nurse Specialist as well as the General Nursing Services. The ﬁrst step is to contact your G.P who will ﬁll in a form, contact the Nurse Specialist who will arrange a visit with you. The ﬁrst visit with the Specialist Nurse is to assess the needs of the patient. He or she will with agreement of the patient and family decide what is needed and will also liaise with the General Nursing Services. Why Would I Need A Palliative Care Team Sometimes when people are ill, they need to know there is someone they can call on if they have difﬁcult symptoms, or have problems sorting medication. It is also a great support to family members who are caring for someone and they can be reassured that they are doing a good job caring for someone, which is a great commitment. The role of the Clinical Nurse Specialist is to assist in symptom control, and to empower the family or carers in their role. All services, link in together to provide a high standard of care. Wicklow runners. WICKLOW HOSPICE SUPPORTERS AND SPONSORS The Following organisations have generously supported Wicklow Hospice. Amergin Consulting Ltd, An Garda Siochana, Annamoe Community, Arklow Bay Hotel, Arklow Charity Horsehow, Arklow Lions Club, Arklow Ofﬁce Supplies, Arklow Womens Group, Aras Lorcain Arklow, Avondale Sports, Avoca Active Retirement, Avoca Hand Weavers, Avoca Recycling Centre, Bla� Blueprint Print & Design, CABS (Charity Awareness Bus atha Cliath Staff), Collins (Michael) Pharmacy, Conway Media, Coolagad Bridge Club, Curtains and Blinds, Curves, Daly SuperValu, Dunnes Stores, Delgany Golf Club, Devitt and Devitt Printers, Donnellis café/restaurant, East Coast FM, Eire Og GAA, Enniskerry Victorian Festival, Errigal Bridge Club, Glendalough Hotel, Glenhaven Foods, Glen Mill Golf Club, Graham Goodwin Signs, Greystones Art group, Greystones Bowling Club, Greystones Cancer Support, Greystones Church of Ireland, Greystones First Responders, Greystones Golf Club, Greystones Lawn Tennis Club, Greystones Rugby Club, Hunters Hotel, ICA Delgany Guild, Irish Hospice Foundation, John Swans Jewellers, Jenerate, Kavanaghs Pub, Kilmac Horse Show, Kilcoole Ladies Golf Club, Leinster Motor Club, Loreto Secondary School, Mystic Celt, P.Boland Ltd, Pettitts SuperValu, Powerscourt Colt Club, Rathdrum Darts Club, Ronan Rose Roberts Architects, Roundwood Gun Club, Roundwood NS, Rython, Servier Ltd., Signs of the Times.ie, Smurﬁt Kappa, Sugarloaf Bridge Club, Superquinn, Three Trout Bridge Club, Wicklow Golf Club, Wicklow Solicitors Association, Wicklow Marathon Runners, Wicklow Times, Wild Swans Golf Club, Woodenbridge Golf Club. The Case for Hospice Care in Co Wicklow B ack in 1989, a Department of Health needs assessment highlighted the lack of hospice beds in Wicklow. In 2009, the Health Service Executive’s Five Year Palliative Care Plan provided for a 12- bed Wicklow hospice by 2012. The regional HSE palliative care committee approved the plans and location. St. John of Gods, a reputable provider of clinical care, is ready to operate the hospice, subject to agreed ongoing funding. But due to the current economic climate progress has stalled. We will raise funds for building our own hospice, if you fulﬁll your promise in the Programme for Government to let the ‘money follow the patient’ to their preferred place of care”. The approved Wicklow hospice allows this, at no additional cost to the health service. The Department of Health’s 2001 national palliative care policy envisaged integrated palliative community care services. National policy is that 1% of all hospital beds should be hospice beds and that there would be 1 hospice bed per 10,000 of population. However, Dublin’s Blackrock 12place Hospice is the only hospice for people in the Dublin East Coast Area and County Wicklow. This is only one third of the agreed bed numbers for the area’s 350,000 population. The new 12 bed Wicklow Hospice will reduce Dublin/East Coast Area’s hospice bed deﬁcit and care for the hundreds of Wicklow people dying in Dublin’s acute hospitals every year. National Access to Specialist Hospice Care Hospice care access is greatly inﬂuenced by regional expenditure. The HSE spend €35 per capita on specialist hospice care in the Mid West and North West, compared to €17 in the Dublin East Coast Area and €3 per capita in Wicklow. Wicklow hospice homecare patients are four times more likely to die in an acute hospital than Mid-West homecare patients. Community hospice care, supported by a hospice inpatient unit, provides the best quality and most cost effective end of life care. Where comprehensive hospice services are provided, 90% of patients are in homecare and just 10% in hospice beds. The hospice inpatient unit is the service’s “hub” which also supports patients in day-care, at home and in long stay nursing home beds. Most people prefer to die at home, surrounded by loved ones. Only 25% of all Irish deaths are at home. In contrast, 42% of patients with hospice homecare die at home. The cost of hospice homecare, per patient, over the last six months of life is less than €1,000 – the equivalent cost of one day in hospital. The absence of a hospice in Wicklow forces many patients who are actively dying and in need of complex care to travel to Dublin’s busy acute hospitals.The HSE’s 2013 service plan promises that 92% of referrals to hospice beds will be met within 7 days. Unfortunately, where there are no beds there can be no referrals. This is really good news for communities like Co Wicklow. This new funding system will facilitate patients to avail of approved care facilities, meeting clinical needs and personal preferences. We expect the Government to provide the same funding model for palliative care as promised for patients with chronic illness, disabilities, mental illness and the older frail population. There should be no discrimination between patients based on where they live. Let The Money Follow the Patient In spite of the current economic crisis, there is an opportunity to end the current regional inequity in hospice services. The Government’s newly published “Future Health” strategy proposes a new funding model for patient care. The model involves “the money follows the patient” ensuring: Equal access to services for patients. The patient is cared for in their own community at the appropriate lowest level of complexity. �� Local GPs lead primary care teams coordinating integrated patient care. �� The hospice service ethos is to deliver the highest possible standard of care, allowing people to maintain their dignity and quality of life. Palliative care encompasses the patient’s mental, spiritual, physical and emotional needs. Coming to the end of life is a very special and privileged time. In Wicklow, community support for a hospice is so overwhelming that hundreds of volunteers, local organizations, clubs and businesses have come together to fund the building of a hospice so that families, carers, friends and �� neighbours can rest assured that their loved �� ones will receive the end of life�� care that they rightly deserve. �� The �� charts clearly illustrate �� that there is a direct �� relationship between the �� provision of palliative care �� services, patient access �� to hospice beds and the � � � � number of cancer patients�� dying in acute hospitals.�� Patrons Shane Byrne, Valerie Cox, Phil Coulter, Daniel Day-Lewis, Chris De Burgh, Phelim Drew, George Hamilton, The Hon. Mr. Justice John Murray, Katie Taylor. Contact: Secretary: Postal Address: Contact Us The Wicklow Hospice Foundation Miriam McGrath, 087 9943206, email – [email protected] 28 Seapoint, Wicklow Town, Wicklow Donate by credit card online at: Or contact: Marie Kindlon 0863768898 Designed by: Paul Francis Design Donations www.wicklowhospice.ie email - [email protected] Printed by: Sooner Than Later Ltd. ��