9:00am Saturday 11th March 2006
IT started in a mobile cabin in a car park in 1991 with the aim of providing hospice care for about 400 residents.
Since then, The Peace Hospice, which celebrated its 15th anniversary on Monday, March 6, with a party at The Grove, has gone on to care for thousands of families across south west Hertfordshire.
The hospice, in Peace Drive, Watford, provides a range of services, from physiotherapy for patients as part of the day care programme, to offering bereavement counselling to those who have recently lost loved ones.
Stanley Squires, 65, from Watling Street, Radlett, who receives treatment once a fortnight at the hospice said: "The nurses here cannot do enough for you, from first thing in the morning to last thing in the evening. They're very good and it's not just the staff, it's also the volunteers. They're always chatting to you.
"I didn't want to come here at first, but to come here and meet people in the same situation was good. I think it's great and now I'm not worried about coming here at all. If I get worse there's no place I would sooner go.
"It's so friendly. A driver picks me up, I'm offered tea and toast as soon as I arrive and then I choose my lunch. The food is wonderful, it's as good as a hotel."
It costs £3 million a year to deliver the care given by the hospice and more than 80 per cent is supported through charitable donations from the general public. However, as the hospice helps more patients each year, costs rise and like many charities, the hospice has seen a significant fall in income from legacies. In the new financial year it has to bridge a funding gap of £400,000 just to break even.
Hospice chairman, Stuart Nagler, said: "This is a serious challenge and, as a result, we are launching a campaign to build a more secure future for the hospice.
"We need to bridge a £400,000 funding gap and encourage regular donations so we can continue to care for those living and dying with cancer and other terminal illnesses."
If you would like to make a regular donation or leave a legacy to the hospice, telephone 01923 330340, e-mail emma@peacehospice.org.uk or visit the hospice website www.peacehospice.org.uk. The hospice offers care free of charge regardless of background, religion or culture and provides a warm, friendly environment for patients to feel welcome and supported.
For full story and picture special, see this week's printed version of the Watford Observer.
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