Hospiscare Together Magazine Autumn 2020

Together
Autumn 2020 | News from your local hospice charity
Exeter, Mid & East Devon
facebook.com/Hospiscare
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Because every day matters
www.hospiscare.co.uk
Registered charity no. 297798
hospiscare.co.uk | 1
www.hospiscare.co.uk | 1

Welcome...
to Hospiscare’s autumn newsletter, Together
Dear friends,
Welcome to our autumn
edition of Together,
following one of the
most unprecedented
times we have ever
experienced.
I firstly want to start by
saying a huge thank you
to everyone who is part
of the Hospiscare family;
you all in your own way
have played your role in supporting Hospiscare through
this incredibly challenging time, and for that we are
truly grateful. From our staff who have gone above and
beyond, patients and families who have adapted to
difficult restrictions, to our wonderful supporters in the
community who have been able to keep donating and
helping in some way; we thank you all.
I am incredibly proud of the team here at Hospiscare
for how they have handled themselves. I also want to
express my thanks to our 1000+ volunteers who had to
step back from their roles at the beginning of lockdown,
but who we are now gradually inviting back to roles
where we need support, while of course being mindful
of safety and capacity.
You will see from this edition of Together how
incredible our community has been during this time,
finding invaluable ways to support us even with all
the limitations put on them; from building and selling
bird boxes, plant and cakes sales at the end of drives,
taking part in our virtual events, to making masks and
headbands for our teams and visitors. The support we
have received has been inspiring and has helped lift
our spirits at a time when we needed it the most; a
heartfelt thanks from us all.
Our key challenge, as for many organisations, remains
the impact on our finances and our ability to continue
the fantastic work that we do. We are predicting a
minimum loss of £1 million this financial year and will
need to use our reserves to support us during this time.
Despite this, I want to reassure you that our Senior
Management Team and trustees are working hard to
ensure that our finances are improved and our income
is restored back to pre-COVID-19 levels. Ensuring we
are here for many years to come remains our absolute
priority as we develop our longer-term plans.
I would again like to thank you all for your continued
support and being part of our Hospiscare family; we
wouldn’t be here without you.
Andrew Randall
Chief Executive Officer of Hospiscare
Contents
You make a difference – Regular giving 3
Clinical round up 4-5
Why you should consider a
When I’m Gone Box 6
Ask a doctor/occupational therapist 7
A day in the life of a Hospiscare nurse 8
Bereavement and care homes; what are
we doing to support our community? 9
Enormous thanks 10-11
Kelly’s story: Why I became a
Hospiscare volunteer 12
Re-opening our Hospiscare shops 13
A legacy that lives on 14
Why local business support is more
important than ever 15
Coping with grief when you can’t
say goodbye 16
Volunteering spotlight: How we are
welcoming our volunteers back safely 17
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas 18
Dates for your diary 19
Shop locations
Back page
The Hospiscare privacy policy is regularly reviewed and updated, so please visit www.hospiscare.co.uk/
privacy-notice to check the latest version.
2 | Because every day matters

Can you give a regular donation?
Regular donations help secure the future of our charity in uncertain times like these and
ensure that we can continue delivering our vital service at no cost to our patients and families
Here are some examples of what your collective donations can pay for:
£12 could pay for protective
masks for our front line nurses
for 24 hours
£29 could pay for an hour
of specialised palliative
nursing on the ward
£36 could pay for an hour of
bereavement support, giving
essential comfort to someone who is
having to grieve in social isolation
£51 could pay for our
community nurse specialist
to visit a seriously ill patient
at home
£110 could pay for a mobile tablet
to help patients on our ward to stay
in touch with loved ones
£216 could pay for a
nurse’s shift on the ward
Make a regular donation
Your details
Your title _ ______________ First name _______________________ Surname _ ____________________________
Your address ____________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
Tel number _______________________________
Please send completed form to: Hospiscare, Searle House, Dryden Road, Exeter EX2 5JJ. Contact us by calling 01392 688020
Postcode _ ______________________
Email _ ____________________________________________
A regular gift will help Hospiscare nurses make a difference to more people
Data Protection: Supporters of Hospiscare are precious and we
respect your privacy. We will not sell or give your details to other
organisations for marketing purposes without your express consent.
Communication with you: We would like to keep you informed
about our work and events. If you prefer not to receive these details
please let us know by phone: 01392 688020, email: fundraising@
hospiscare.co.uk, or post.
I would like to give £8 £12 £20 Other £______ each month
Instruction to your Bank or Building
Society to pay by Direct Debit
THANK
YOU
FOR
SUPPORTING HOSPISCARE
Please fill in the whole form and send it to: FREEPOST (RTJT-YSLK-ASAA) Hospiscare, Searle House, Dryden Road, Exeter EX2 5JJ
Name and full postal address of your Bank or Building Society
To: The Manager
Bank/building society Service user number
Address
Names(s) of Account Holder(s)
Bank/Building Society account number
Branch Sort Code
Postcode
2 7 7 9 6 3
Reference
Instruction to your Bank or Building Society
Please pay Hospiscare Direct Debits from the account detailed
in this Instruction subject to the safeguards assured by the Direct
Debit Guarantee. I understand that this Instruction may remain with
Hospiscare and, if so, details will be passed electronically
to my Bank/Building Society.
Signature(s)
Banks and Building Societies may not accept Direct Debit Instructions for some types of account. DDI 5 8/16
Date
Can we Gift Aid your donation?
I want to Gift Aid my donation and
any donations I make in the future
or have made in the past 4 years to
Hospiscare.
I am a UK taxpayer and understand that if
I pay less Income Tax and/or Capital Gains
Tax than the amount of Gift Aid claimed
on all my donations in that tax year it is
my responsibility to pay any difference. I
understand that Hospiscare will reclaim 25p
of tax on every £1 that I have given.
Signature(s) _ _________________
Date _________________________
www.hospiscare.co.uk | 3

Clinical round up
Hospiscare’s response to the coronavirus pandemic
Our Director of Clinical Services, Tina Naldrett, explains how Hospiscare adapted
its care and services in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
We adapted quickly to be there for our community
During the coronavirus pandemic, our community
teams have been responding by adapting the way we
work while still maintaining our support for those in
our care, particularly the most vulnerable.
From mid-March, we responded by keeping the ward
open and changing our community services so we
could ensure our vulnerable groups were safe.
Part of our response involved setting up a Clinical
Co-ordination Centre (CCC) at Searle House, which
became a single point of contact for all referrals
and calls from patients, families and healthcare
professionals.
We designed the CCC to run 7 days-a-week and
extended the operational hours to enable people to
contact us every day until 8pm. Following this, we
continued to run our 24-hour, 7 days-a-week advice
line to ensure that our community was never without us
and could contact our team whenever they needed to.
This support has also been available for healthcare
professionals throughout the pandemic, enabling them
access to our expert knowledge of end-of-life care. This
has enhanced the way we work in the community and
we are now considering how we can utilise the CCC in
the future.
We made the difficult decision to suspend our day
hospice services in accordance with government
guidelines as many of the people benefitting from this
service were vulnerable and shielding. Instead, we
supported those same people through our community
nursing teams.
Throughout the pandemic, we have kept our specialist
ward open, although we have had to make some
adaptations for visitors based on government
guidance. Our Hospiscare@Home 24/7 services in
Seaton, Axminster, Exmouth, Budleigh Salterton and
Lympstone have continued to care for patients in their
homes during the last weeks and days of their lives.
4 | Because every day matters

We developed our use of technology
In keeping with general practitioners, we are using
secure video calling for consultations with patients
through a platform called AccuRX. This enables our
doctors and nurses to communicate face-to-face with
patients and carers during this time without putting
patients and staff at risk of contracting the virus.
The staff at our hospice have been using secure virtual
platforms for clinical meetings and to keep in touch
with each other. With less time spent travelling, we
have noticed that we are able to spend more time with
the patients and families who need us. This has also
allowed us to take advantage of our specialist palliative
medical team’s advice more readily and more often.
After a year-long project, we launched our new
Hospiscare website. At this time when communication
is more important than ever, having a streamlined
platform for advice, resources and information about
our services is vital. Patients, families and healthcare
professionals can use our new website to access a
wide range of support and information, from videos
and digital leaflets to updates about our fundraising
activities and Hospiscare shops.
We worked together to overcome the difficulties
our charity faced
One of the testing things for us during the pandemic
has been managing the volume of information from
the government and specialist services. Our team has
reviewed every recommendation before deciding if
changes need to be put into place. From mid-March to
the end of June, we reviewed and acted on 320 pieces
of information relevant to managing care during the
COVID-19 pandemic.
Looking after our staff at this time has presented
additional challenges as many are working remotely
and therefore communication and inclusion has
been more important than ever. We have put in place
additional touchpoints to ensure staff can voice their
questions and access any support they need.
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) was sparse at first
and although the availability of PPE has now improved,
we still have to monitor our stock levels and require
regular deliveries. We cannot thank our supporters
enough for coming to our aid when we put out a call for
PPE; their donations of PPE have been a huge help.
The need for PPE has presented our charity with a
new financial challenge. With many of our fundraising
events cancelled and our shops only just beginning
to re-open, our income was drastically affected. We
shared the news that we have predicted a minimum
loss of £1 million this financial year due to the impact
of coronavirus on our fundraising. The community’s
response has been phenomenal and our supporters
have found innovative ways of fundraising during this
difficult time. We continue to face the challenge of
raising 85% of the funds needed to run our vital service
and we are constantly adapting to meet this challenge.
We have been missing our volunteers. In the early days
of the pandemic, we needed to reduce the footfall in
our buildings to keep our patients safe and therefore
volunteers were unable to carry out their duties. In
addition, many of our volunteers have been unable to
fulfil their roles as they are part of a vulnerable group.
We hope that in accordance with government guidance,
we can begin to welcome volunteers back to our charity
safely over the coming months.
www.hospiscare.co.uk | 5

Planning ahead
Why you should consider a When I’m Gone Box
Raising the topic of death and dying with your
loved ones is undeniably difficult. We often feel
the subject should not be discussed for fear of
tempting fate or being morbid. Following the death
of a loved one however, family members are often
left with questions and frustrations, from where to
find their relative’s Will to what kind of funeral they
would have wanted.
Wendy Coulton, a Plymouth-based qualified funeral
celebrant, was worried about the stress of the
practical matters that her family would have to deal
with following her death and thus came the idea of
the When I’m Gone Box.
What do you put in a When I’m Gone Box?
The contents of the When I’m Gone Box are really
up to the individual, but the main idea is that
this box contains all of the necessary information
that your family will need when making the
arrangements after your death. It can be a place to
collect important information such as your National
Insurance number, who you have bank accounts
and pensions with, funeral wishes and your Will.
In addition to the necessary documents for
handling your estate and affairs, you may wish to
put in personal items. You could write letters for
friends or family members to read after your death.
You could also leave information about your own
life and legacy; a diary or summary of your key
achievements, an account of the people you have
helped in your life and even a bucket list (whether
completed or not!).
When should I put together a When I’m
Gone Box?
Creating a When I’m Gone Box is something that
anyone can do in order to begin thinking about
their last wishes. Although this may be more
prominent if you have been diagnosed with a
terminal illness, these are considerations that
everyone will need to make at some point in their
lives and is especially relevant during the current
pandemic. Putting a box together can give you and
your family the peace of mind that, when the time
comes, your wishes will be carried out.
Should I tell anyone about my When I’m
Gone Box?
It is important to let your family know where to
find the box and explain its purpose. This could
be a difficult conversation; make sure you calmly
explain that you have done this to make things
easier for them when the time comes and to ensure
that your wishes are fulfilled. You may also want to
suggest that they start their own boxes for the same
purpose.
The only person who knows your wishes is you;
sharing these with your family will give them the
reassurance that they are doing what you wanted
and allow them the space to grieve.
6 | Because every day matters

Ask a ...
Your questions answered by Dr Cate O’Neill
and occupational therapist Sarah Anderson
COVID-19 has made me
more aware of my own
mortality; what can I
do to plan in advance,
should the worst
happen?
The COVID-19 pandemic has
undoubtedly brought death
and dying into the spotlight
and may well have caused us to
contemplate our own mortality,
whatever our age or health status.
Whilst this is not an easy subject
to consider, it may prove to be an
important lever to engage us in
conversation with family or friends
about what our own wishes might
be, should the worst happen.
When considering advance care
planning, you may want to think
How can I adjust to
the ‘new normal’
way of life after the
COVID-19 pandemic?
From the outset, we knew that
the pandemic would have a huge
impact on everyone’s functioning.
For many people, their daily
activities changed overnight;
whether that was working from
home or shielding completely and
therefore not being able to take
part in normal social activities.
Many people have experienced a
grief reaction to the loss of their
‘normal lives’ and really struggled
with the uncertainty of what the
‘new normal’ is. We expect that
the impact of COVID-19 will be
long lasting – not only in terms
about the following; where you
would like to be cared for leading
up to and at the end of life (e.g.
home, hospital, hospice or care
home); who you would like to
speak on your behalf, should you
no longer be able to do this for
yourself (e.g. appointing a lasting
power of attorney); whether or not
you would want to be transferred
to hospital in the event of a
sudden deterioration; writing a
Will to ensure that your loved ones
are taken care of and sharing your
preferences for a funeral service.
Whilst these conversations
are never easy, they can bring
significant relief to both those
approaching the end of their lives
as well as those close to them
by ensuring that their wishes are
known and can be respected,
should that time come.
of the changes to our day-to-day
lives, but also in terms of grief and
loss in particular.
Supporting people to find their
own solutions to difficulties and
new ways of doing tasks is key to
what an occupational therapist
seeks to do. We all need to
adjust to this ‘new normal’ way of
living and it is important we give
ourselves time to do this. Sparing
just ten minutes a day to stop and
take stock, to go for a walk, have a
bath or just take a few breaths can
be such important time.
Many people have found that
‘lockdown’ led them to reevaluate
what and who was really
important. Hold on to this as the
restrictions start to ease. Allow
yourself to feel all of the emotions
that this pandemic has caused;
Dr Cate O’Neill
There is much to learn from the
COVID-19 pandemic. One of the
most important lessons may be for
us all to think about what we would
want in the event that we become
critically unwell so that the care
we receive is in-keeping with our
wishes.
Occupational therapist Sarah Anderson
it’s okay to feel positive one
moment and then upset the next.
Reach out for help if the negative
feelings become harder to shift.
However large or small your
community, there are people who
want to help.
www.hospiscare.co.uk | 7

A day in the life…
of a Hospiscare nurse
Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, our specialist ward in Exeter has remained open
and our nurses have continued to deliver end-of-life care to patients in their own homes.
We asked two of our nurses to share their experiences of being on the frontline during
the pandemic.
“I’m Julie Wakley, Ward Manager at Hospiscare’s palliative
care ward in Exeter, and I’ve been a Hospiscare nurse for 17
years.
“The 12-bed ward has carried on, ‘business as usual’,
during the coronavirus pandemic. We’ve continued to accept
admissions 7 days-a-week.
“Today I spent time with a gentleman who is dying. His
daughters have just arrived and they have travelled over
100 miles to be here. Over the past couple of days, I have had
several conversations with them over the phone supporting
them in making the decisions about when to come.
“We see people for such a short window of their life but they share
with us so much. I think that makes the job; you become passionate
about what you do to make it as good as we can for them.
“A simple hug or just a touch on the shoulder to support
families; these are the things we haven’t been able to do
because of the distance we need to keep at the moment to
keep everybody safe. I think our nurses find it tough because
they can’t do the job they normally do; smiling and laughing
with patients as, although people are headed towards the end
of life, there is still a lot of laughter and enjoyment at times.”
“My name is Sasha Turner and I am
a nurse with Hospiscare@Home.
“We are quite visible in the
community and we have to put PPE
on outside the patient’s house
before we can go in. A lot of
passers-by have witnessed us
putting on PPE and plenty of times I
have been congratulated or
applauded and people have said
‘Well done nurse!’ It makes me feel
very proud to be a frontline worker.
“It is a completely different way of
life at the moment but we just get
on as a team and do it. It has been
challenging but I love being a nurse;
I’ve been a nurse since I was 18.
“Coronavirus is absolutely awful but
it’s not going to stop me looking
after my patients.”
8 | Because every day matters

Bereavement and care homes;
What are we doing to support our local community?
Hospiscare is strongly embedded in
the local community and before the
coronavirus pandemic, we worked
closely with local GP surgeries, the
RD&E hospital and the care homes
in our area.
These ties with local healthcare
professionals have strengthened
our charity’s foundation during the
pandemic and we have been able to
use our expertise in end-of-life care
and bereavement care to support the
wider community.
Over the past few months, we have
developed our support for local care
homes by providing a dedicated
telephone line in the Clinical
Coordination Centre (CCC) at Searle
House which enables care staff to
seek advice in a responsive way.
In addition to this, the NHS
commissioners in Devon asked local
hospices to help develop education
programmes and resources for care
homes and NHS staff. Our clinical
team responded by developing
video and online resources that are
available to healthcare staff and
these have been widely used. In
addition to this, local care homes
asked us to host resources on our
new website to make them more
readily available to their staff.
As a hospice, our care extends
beyond the patient to their family
members and loved ones. Since
the charity’s birth in 1982, we have
developed our bereavement care
for friends and family members.
Together with the other hospices
across Devon, we brought our
expertise together to form a
Bereavement Alliance during the
COVID-19 pandemic.
We have plans to support the
Exeter Nightingale hospital with
bereavement care and we are
currently taking referrals for anyone
who has experienced a death during
the pandemic. These have been
difficult times for us all, especially as
many people will have been unable
to spend time with their family
and friends at the end of their lives
and funerals have had limitations
imposed.
Our bereavement listening service
continues to support our patients
and their loved ones and can be
accessed by calling 01392 688088.
We have also developed a leaflet
entitled After someone has died
during the COVID-19 pandemic
which has been used nationally to
support those who have lost a loved
one during the pandemic and is
available on our website.
We are continuing to work on the
Exeter Nightingale project alongside
the other Devon hospices in the
Bereavement Alliance by offering
specialist palliative care advice from
our Hospiscare doctors. We are also
working towards being able to offer
virtual support groups and consider
how face-to-face support groups
could safely meet up again in line
with government guidance.
www.hospiscare.co.uk | 9

Enormous THANKS
To all of our supporters!
Thank YOU for all of the amazing things that you do to support Hospiscare. We are so grateful to you for
giving your time, money and energy during this difficult time and for the ingenious ways you have found to
fundraise for your local hospice charity during lockdown. All of your efforts are hugely appreciated; across
these pages are just some of you in action...
Thank you to the Brixington Blues
YFC who raised £1,138 on their
‘Road to Wembley’ challenge.
Thank you to Elizabeth Searle
who ran her fifth marathon
for Hospiscare, raising
£71,906 to date!
Thank you to Tiverton High
School and Blundell’s School for
their generous donations of PPE.
Thank you to Katy Ware
who walked the distance of
the London Marathon and
raised £1,368.25.
Thank you to Jon Morton who
has been making and selling
bird boxes, raising over £800!
Thank you to Bea Squires who
has been designing and selling
tea towels, raising over £3,000!
Thank you to Devon and Somerset
Fire and Rescue Service for fitting
specialist masks for our nurses and
doctors free of charge.
10 | Because every day matters
Thank you to Aimee, Adam and
Paul who donated an iPad to our
ward to enable patients to stay
in touch with their loved ones.
Thank you to Exminster Golf
Club ladies who raised £1,183.17
from their Charity of the Year
fundraising from 2019-2020.

Thank you to Alex Myers who
cycled the distance from Exeter
to Dunkirk, raising £1,050!
Thank you to George Hill who set
up an online art auction for local
artists and raised £2,821.
Thank you to Stalite Signs
who have supported three
Hospiscare events a year by
donating banners and signs.
Thank you to Paul Godfrey who
has raised over £4,000 for
Hospiscare in memory of his
dad, Brian.
Thank you to the Radio Exe
team for hosting The Big Quiz
Series and special thanks to
Jamie for dressing up to host
both of his quizzes!
Thank you to Paula Lawford,
Exeter Friends of Hospiscare
and Bicton College for their
virtual plant sale that raised
over £1,750!
Thank you to Paul Osborne and
Mike Lawrence who both shaved
their heads and raised £2,364!
Thank you to Katie Brown and her
family for their fundraising efforts
in memory of Katie’s mum.
Thank you to Jess Macan for
organising socially distanced
homemade cream tea deliveries,
raising over £800!
Thank you to Martin and Rachel
Nancekiville for opening their
farm for green waste disposal,
raising £923.77.
Thank you to Laura Morris and
her pupils who did a virtual
concert and raised £517 for
Hospiscare!
Thank you to Bev who runs
Natural Beauty by Bev for her
continued support, including
making masks with friends.
We would like to thank local solicitors who took part in this year’s Will
Fortnight: Tozers, East Devon Law, Bay Tree Solicitors
www.hospiscare.co.uk
and Dunn & Baker.
| 11

Kelly’s story:
“Why I became a Hospiscare volunteer”
“People come to volunteering for all sorts of reasons.
For me it is because Hospiscare holds a special place
in my heart. Four years ago, my step-dad Malcolm
became ill and passed away from cancer. During
this time, Hospiscare provided us with profound,
unwavering support – in terms of Malcolm’s care,
and also as a family losing a loved one.
“After Malcolm passed away, I knew I wanted to
give back to Hospiscare and become a volunteer.
During the first couple of years after Malcolm’s
death, I knew I wasn’t ready, so I did what I could
in the interim – I donated to Hospiscare shops,
entered the Weekly Prize Draw, bought Hospiscare
Christmas cards and chose Hospiscare as my
Amazon Smile charity. Then, a year ago, I decided I
was ready and applied to be a volunteer.
“The initial application form on the website was
nice and simple and I suggested I might be a good
fit for communications and marketing; it has always
been a small part of my job.
“After chatting to Vicky, the Volunteering Manager,
we agreed I would volunteer with the Marketing
and Communications team once a month on a
range of projects.
“On my first day as a volunteer, I was anxious about
what I’d be doing, and of course about meeting
new people, but all of the staff are so kind and
welcoming. The Marketing and Communications
team immediately made me a coffee, grabbed me
a freshly-made cheese scone from the kitchen, and
made me feel part of the team.
“I help out with a range of tasks from admin and
research jobs to my one true love – writing. I work
in Higher Education and have been an academic
and writer for my whole professional career. The
team give me a topic for a blog post and I research
and write it; I love it when I get an email telling me
my latest post is up!
“It’s always nice to see your words in print, but
this article is particularly special as I know these
words could help someone like me, or someone
like Malcolm. Writing is a skill I take for granted,
but it is so useful to the charity. After the support
Hospiscare gave to us when Malcolm was ill, it is
humbling to be able to give something back.
“I want to end this with a thank you to the wonderful
Marketing and Communications team for making me
feel like one of their own, but also to the nurse who
supported us during Malcolm’s illness – Jane. I have
tried several times to find the words to express what
you did for us, but I just can’t (and I’m never usually
short of words). All I can say is thank you to you,
and everyone at Hospiscare, for what you do. It is a
privilege to be a part of it as a volunteer.”
An update from Hospiscare:
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, our volunteers have not been able to come into the hospice to fulfil
their normal roles. This hasn’t stopped Kelly from supporting us; since March, she has been busy
making masks and headbands for our nurses and doctors. Kelly has also been involved in the launch of
our new website. We are so grateful to Kelly for her dedication during this difficult time.
12 | Because every day matters

Re-opening our Hospiscare shops:
How we are doing this safely
After many weeks of closure, we have been re-opening
our shops on a phased basis so we can get back to
raising vital funds for Hospiscare patients.
COVID-19 has massively impacted all aspects of life
in recent months and as we came out of national
lockdown with restrictions easing over summer,
normal life now looks very different for our staff,
volunteers and customers in the Hospiscare shops.
We’ve had to rethink a lot of our processes, from
cleaning routines and safety measures, to managing
donations and coping with reduced volunteer support.
Hospiscare shops play an important role, both as a
way to raise much-needed funds for patient care and
for the benefits they bring to the local community, so
adapting the way we work to allow the shops to reopen
has been extremely important.
Keeping our staff, volunteers and
customers safe is paramount. We’re
closely following all the latest government
guidance and have implemented a range
of safety measures in our shops including
• Strictly following social distancing
guidelines
• Providing hand sanitiser stations to
customers entering or leaving the shop
• Limiting the number of people in the shop
at any one time
• Accepting card payments only
• Ensuring face coverings and other PPE are
available for staff and volunteers
• Quarantining donated goods for 72 hours
prior to sorting them
• Regularly sanitising surfaces and cleaning
the shop throughout the day.
We’ve also been asking donors to pre-sort their
donations before bringing them to us. This simple
action can have a huge impact as, sadly, our costs
for recycling low quality donations are approximately
£50,000 per year – money that would make a huge
difference to patients and their loved ones across our
region. We ask potential donors to pose the question,
“Would I buy it?” If the answer is no, then those
items are best taken to your local recycling centre.
For the latest information on what goods we’re able
to accept and advice on how to pre-sort donations,
visit www.hospiscare.co.uk/shops.
We’ve also had to change how we accept donations
from our supporters. Shops that have reopened
are accepting donations by appointment only,
including our warehouse store in Marsh Barton.
We are continually monitoring our donation levels
and government guidelines so these arrangements
may change from time to time. For the latest
information, visit www.hospiscare.co.uk/shops.
We’re so grateful for the overwhelming
support we’ve had from our volunteers,
staff and the wider community as we
have adapted how we work, allowing
us to continue to raise vital funds for
Hospiscare patients and their families.
www.hospiscare.co.uk | 13

A legacy that lives on
Phillip Zarrilli, artistic director of the Llanarth Group
and a well-travelled actor, author and teacher, died
in our care during the COVID-19 pandemic. Before
his death, Phillip decided to amend his will to
leave a gift for our charity. His wife, Kaite O’Reilly,
celebrates his memory.
On 9 March 2020, when Phillip received the news
from his oncologist that the cancer he had been
living with for fourteen years had begun to ‘seriously
party’ (his words), he said to me ‘this is our last
adventure together.’
Phillip lived with cancer - creatively, fully and without
complaint - for fourteen years. He always spoke of
how grateful he was to have been able to teach,
create, perform, direct and, most importantly,
complete his books, constantly giving thanks to
the brilliant skills and ideology of universal free
healthcare offered by the UK’s NHS.
We are both hugely grateful to the staff at Hospiscare,
who gave Phillip such tender and expert palliative
care, and in the most challenging of conditions,
in the middle of a pandemic. Against all the odds,
they allowed me to be with Phillip, showing such
compassion. One of his last acts of kindness was
to change his Will so that he could leave a donation
to Hospiscare, to say thank you. We both felt it was
important to support such an important charity
during this financial crisis.
Phillip died on 28 April 2020 at 13.52 UK time. It was
the ‘good death’ he wanted, I think - calm, pain-free,
unsentimental - me holding his hand.
I keep thinking of the Tagore line: ‘Let it not be a
death, but completeness.’
I have been so fortunate, having this great mind,
this gentle and generous man as my companion in
so many ways – loving, working, living, travelling,
thinking, writing and making performance alongside
him for twenty one years. I believe Phillip inhabited
every second of his life until he departed, soaring, on
a breath.
One in five of our patients is cared for thanks to gifts
in Wills. We are grateful for each and every donation.
If you would like to find out more about leaving your
own legacy, you can get in touch with our Legacy
Gift team by calling 01392 688020 or emailing
legacyinfo@hospiscare.co.uk.
14 | Because every day matters

Community spirit:
Why local business support is more important than ever
We are fortunate to benefit from the support of
a number of local businesses in our community.
From holding company bake sales to taking part in
Hospiscare events as a team, choosing Hospiscare
as a charity partner ensures that we are able to
deliver our vital care to local people.
Having Hospiscare as a charity partner is also
hugely beneficial for the local businesses
who choose to do so. Rather than hearing the
benefits from us, we asked two of our local
business supporters to explain the impact of their
partnership with Hospiscare.
Gabby Weil from Wilkinson Grant explains, “As a
local business, we believe very much in supporting
local charities and Hospiscare is a charity close to
many people’s hearts.
“Wilkinson Grant are the main supporter for
Hospiscare’s Men’s Walk and we also support other
events, such as The Great West Run, Hospiscare
Coffee Mornings and Candles on the Canal. Several
of our team members are regular marshals for the
events and many of our male members take part in
the Men’s Walk every year.
“As a local family business, we feel it is important
to support such a worthwhile cause to enable it to
carry on functioning to support and care for those
who need it the most; not just patients, but family
members as well. It also helps to unite the team
within the business as we work together to help
and support Hospiscare.”
If you’d like to talk about how your team can
come together to raise money for your local
hospice, please call Sarah on 01392 688020
or email fundraising@hospiscare.co.uk
Beccy Nutthall from Jurassic Fibre says, “As an
Exeter business, with employees and customers
living in the local community, Jurassic Fibre believes
it is important to support local charities.
“We were aware of Hospiscare and the incredible
work they do to support so many local people and
their families. We met some of the Hospiscare
team at a local networking event and learnt about
the sponsorship opportunities available for the
Twilight Walk.
“When we heard about the Twilight Walk, we
immediately wanted to lend our support. We were
disappointed when we thought the walk may not go
ahead due to the pandemic, but were bowled over
by Hospiscare’s fortitude and determination when
they decided to continue with the event. Having
a virtual walk was a genius idea and Hospiscare
managed to maintain the sense of fun and
excitement that is such a big part of the Twilight
Walk. Best of all, Hospiscare was able to raise
much-needed funds and unite their supporters.
“Jurassic Fibre were proud and honoured to support
such a wonderful and worthwhile charity and have
offered to sponsor the Twilight Walk again in 2021.
We want to continue building our relationship with
Hospiscare and supporting them.
“It is important to us and our staff to give back to
the local community and, as a new business, we
are starting to undertake community initiatives
to ensure this happens, including launching a
community scheme offering village halls free full
fibre broadband for a year.
“We would encourage other organisations to
support local charities, as they often do not receive
the recognition and support that national charities
benefit from.”
www.hospiscare.co.uk | 15

Coping with grief
when you can’t say goodbye
When you experience the death of a loved one,
even if it is expected, it can leave you feeling
stunned. When that death is unexpected, you also
have to deal with the shock of a sudden loss.
In both cases, you can feel overwhelmed and your
ability to function can be seriously impaired. You
may be left feeling extremely bewildered or anxious
and life may feel unrecognisable.
Not having a chance to prepare and say goodbye
is really difficult to come to terms with. There is
no gradual transition, no time to make changes in
yourself or your expectations about your life. It might
feel like time stopped and there is a strong sense of
before and after: how your world was and ‘should
be’ and how it is now. The death may continue to feel
inexplicable for a long period of time.
You may find yourself looking back at the time
leading up to the death and searching for clues
that you might have missed. This tendency to
reconstruct events in your mind in order to allow
it to feel like you were anticipating it, is quite
common. It can make the situation seem more
manageable and retrospectively provides you
with some sense of anticipation and preparation.
This can become more troublesome if you start to
perceive that you might have been responsible for
‘missing something’.
For those who have lost someone suddenly or
without being able to say goodbye, grief symptoms
can persist for longer. You may feel a loss of
security and confidence in the world because you
have had someone snatched away from you without
warning.
The impact of any loss can last a lifetime and can
change how we think about the world. It can prompt
you to make more time for those that are still here
as you know that tomorrow is not a guarantee
for anyone. This can help you keep what is most
important to you in mind and something positive
can come from tragedy.
We need to give ourselves permission to feel any
way we may feel and manage those feelings in a
way that feels most appropriate. There is no right
and wrong; express your emotions because it is a
normal response. Stay close to those who love and
support you and those who let you grieve as you
need to. Keep talking to the person who has died as
if they are still there. Focus on the basics: eat, drink
water, sleep. Talk to us; we will do what we can to
support you at Hospiscare.
To find out more about our bereavement support,
visit www.hospiscare.co.uk/how-we-help/
supporting-friends-and-family/bereavementsupport/
16 | Because every day matters

Volunteering spotlight:
How we are welcoming our volunteers back safely
From mid-March, almost all volunteering at
Hospiscare ceased in line with government
guidance. Our shops went silent and our buildings
became much quieter with visiting and volunteering
restricted. Safety for our volunteers is paramount
as we look to find new ways to continue our
services; ensuring a COVID-19 secure environment
is essential.
Already our valued volunteers are finding ways
to keep involved during this crisis. Roles that
don’t involve entering the hospice were easier
to reinstate, such as maintaining the gardens at
Searle House, Pine Lodge and Kings House for
patients and families to enjoy and find a place
of solace and comfort. Our volunteers know that
for patients and visitors, being out in beautiful
spaces is crucial for physical and emotional
wellbeing. Our trained volunteers continue to offer
supportive phone calls to patients and carers at
home or comfort for those who have suffered a
bereavement.
Fundraising is vital for the continuation of our
services and our volunteers have found creative
ways to continue with fundraising activities. They
have embraced technology by going online to do
plant sales and encouraging friends to support
virtual Open Gardens or bake and collect fresh
home-made cakes.
Importantly too our shops have started to re-open
safely and are managing the volume of donations.
This would not be possible without the support
of our retail volunteers, like Jan Summers who
volunteers in the Crediton Shop. Jan says:
“I returned to volunteering on 10 July; I was keen
to go back but also a bit concerned. I needn’t have
worried – everything was so well organised - face
shields, hand sanitisers, a limit on customers in
the shop – all systems were in place and worked
really well. I am so pleased to be back, seeing
fellow volunteers again and enjoying chatting to
our customers.”
For the time being, the volunteering support offered
directly to patients is still under review as we look
to find safe alternatives, knowing that face-to-face
and physical contact is the cornerstone of patient
care. Our patients are particularly vulnerable, as
are some of our volunteers. We are not limiting
returns to volunteering by age; instead we are
sharing all of the information about our COVID-19
secure measures and risk-assessments and asking
volunteers to self-assess their ability to return.
There are still many roles to which volunteers
cannot yet return, but gradually and in-line with
government advice, we hope to welcome back our
amazing volunteer force, who make such a critical
difference.
www.hospiscare.co.uk | 17

It’s beginning to look
a lot like Christmas
Treecycle your
Christmas tree
Take the hassle out of your postfestive
clear up and support
Hospiscare at the same time by
signing up to our special Christmas
tree recycling scheme.
Hospiscare will once again be
working in partnership with
JustHelping to send out teams of
volunteers to collect trees from
homes around the Exeter area
between the 9 - 17 January.
All you need to do is sign up online
after 15 November, register your tree
for collection and make a donation.
You will be helping to provide our
specialist care and support for local
people and their families.
Thank you!
Volunteers needed
If you would like to help our tree
recycling campaign by offering
your time to help, we’re looking for
volunteers and/or people with vans
who will be willing to donate a day
(or half a day) to help.
For queries or further information
about the Christmas Tree Collection,
please contact the fundraising
office on 01392 688020 or email
treecollection@hospiscare.co.uk
Christmas Raffle
There’s a change coming for
Christmas 2020!
We’re excited to announce that this
year we would like to invite you
to hold a Big Christmas Raffle for
Hospiscare!
Make the build-up to Christmas
even more exciting, by holding a
raffle with a wonderful prize!
You could raffle off an item from your
shop, or a voucher for a meal at your
restaurant, or an unopened box of
chocolates (does that even exist?).
It is completely up to you what you
choose as your raffle prize. It’s a fun
and easy way to help raise funds for
our patients and their families in
your local community.
Registering is simple and we will
send you all you need to set up
your raffle – all you need to do is
supply a prize. You will have the
support of one of the members of
our fundraising team who will be on
hand to answer any questions. Our
fundraisers can also offer you tips
for physical or virtual raffle options
to ensure that you can manage your
raffle safely within government
guidelines.
If you want to get involved or
would like more details, please call
the Fundraising Team on 01392
688020 or email fundraising@
hospiscare.co.uk
Light Up A Life
At Christmas time, we will be joining
together to remember loved ones
who are no longer with us.
Due to the current social distancing
measures, we will not be holding
any services but we will celebrate
together, virtually, on one night in
December.
Our Books of Memories with your
dedications will be available in the
local churches that usually hold
a Light Up A Life service and in
the Cathedral for your own private
reflection. The tree will still shine on
Cathedral Green in Exeter with the
lights of those we hold close to our
hearts during the festive season.
Further details will be sent out in
October and will be available on our
website. If you have any questions,
please call 01392 688020 or email
fundraising@hospiscare.co.uk
18 | Because every day matters

Dates for the Diary
Visit hospiscare.co.uk for more!
The dates for your diary listed below are subject to
government guidelines; up-to-date information can be
found on the Hospiscare website.
September
31 August
to 21 September Tour de Devon – virtual cycling challenge – Devon
5 Open Gardens, Briar House, Sweetbriar Lane, Exeter, EX1 3AW
Open Gardens, Penrose House, Park Road, Crediton, EX17 3ET
6 Open Gardens – Six St Leonards gardens will open from 2:00pm
to 4:30pm
October
1-31 Marathon in a Month – virtual marathon challenge – Devon
4 Skydive, Dunkeswell Airfield, Honiton
November
1-30 Big Christmas Raffle for Hospiscare
December
1-25 Big Christmas Raffle for Hospiscare
1-31 Light Up A Life
6 La La Choir
January
9-17 Christmas Tree Recycling
“Ringing the winners of the top prizes is the
best job of my working week!
I get very mixed reactions; one winner was tearful and said that I had just
brightened up not only a miserable, dull day, but her whole life as she
hadn’t had much luck lately. Another took some convincing that it was real;
she thought I was her brother messing around! We have even had a winner
donate the top prize of £1,000 straight back to
Hospiscare plus gift aid!”
Peter Hill, Lottery Administrator at Hospiscare
Did you know
you can support Hospiscare
and have the chance to win up to £1000 every week?
Join our Weekly Prize Draw from just £1 per week at
www.hospiscare.co.uk/support-our-work/prize-draw/
Hospiscare Lottery is licensed by the Gambling Commission www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk
Promoter: Hospiscare. Players must be 16 or over.
www.hospiscare.co.uk | 19

Shop openings are subject to current government guidelines. Please visit the
Hospiscare website for up-to-date information on the opening of our shops.
Shop online
Search for ‘Hospiscare’
on eBay or Amazon
to raise money and find
unique items!
Visit one of our Hospiscare
shops near you...
Buckland House, South Street, Axminster
1 High Street, Budleigh Salterton
129 High Street, Crediton
24 Fore Street, Cullompton
158/159 Cowick Street, Exeter
90-92 Fore Street, Exeter
84 South Street, Exeter
65 Fore Street, Heavitree, Exeter
Unit 2 Trusham Road, Marsh Barton, Exeter
37 Exeter Road, Exmouth
49 The Parade, Exmouth
141 High Street, Honiton
Dowell Street, Honiton
5 The Arcade, Okehampton
12 Broad Street, Ottery St Mary
2 Marine Crescent, Seaton
27-29 Gold Street, Tiverton
9 Fore Street, Topsham
Summer Lane, Whipton
SUPPORT
HOSPISCARE BY
SHOPPING WITH
AMAZON SMILE
When you shop at
smile.amazon.co.uk
Amazon donates to Hospiscare
Thank you for your support
20 | Because every day matters