Communities at Work Hospice

The Irish Hospice Foundation The Irish Hospice Foundation was set up in 1986 to fund and develop specific hospice services. Since then their work has expanded to address the needs of people dying in hospitals, at home and in other care settings. They work to provide equity in access to palliative care services for all patients with life limiting illness. They also promote discussion of a broad range of issues related to dying, death and bereavement, in order to identify what matters most to Irish people at the end of life and how best to address their concerns.

Services Hospice Home Care for Children: We have invested €2.5 million in providing Children’s Outreach Nurses all around Ireland, a Consultant Paediatrician with a special interest in palliative care and training for healthcare staff. All of these programmes are delivered in partnership with the HSE. Education and research: Every year nearly 3,000 people take part in our training programmes and we estimate that over 50,000 people have received training in aspects of good end-of-life care and bereavement since we were established. We also fund pioneering research on end-of- life and palliative care issues across Ireland. Nurses for Night Care: This free national service for people with illnesses other than cancer enables more people fulfill their wish to die at home. This service costs €500,000 per annum.

Services Hospice Friendly Hospitals: This programme aims to improve end-of-life care in hospitals. The learning from this programme is now being applied in residential care settings for older people. Innovation in primary care and in people’s homes: We support developments in these settings so that better end-of- life care can be delivered everywhere and for everyone. Innovation in new areas: We are committed to nurturing new areas. In 2013 we were able to attract philanthropic funding for an ambitious national programme, ‘Changing Minds’, which aims to promote excellence in end-of-life care for people living with dementia.

Services Supporting the hospice movement: We coordinate two national fundraising programmes for voluntary hospice groups across Ireland each year: Sunflower Days and Ireland’s Biggest Coffee Morning. These events raise €2.5 million for hospice care all across Ireland. We receive no income from these campaigns. Advocacy: Through advocacy and awareness-raising, we work to promote a better understanding of end- of-life care issues and to influence decision-makers to make services more widely available to all who need them. We actively promote discussion of issues related to dying, death and bereavement in order to identify Irish people’s concerns about these matters and consider how they might be addressed.

Note some key points from this video clip i.e. facts, benefits and services.