Living Today, Building for Tomorrow

St Francis Hospice was founded 35 years ago, by a coalition of the willing made up of government funders, corporate supporters, and individuals, families, and non-profit causes within our community. As I attended today’s Bewley’s Big Coffee Morning for Hospice in St Francis Hospice Blanchardstown, I reflected on how this combined support still enables St Francis Hospice to grow and thrive. Together, we are ensuring a world-class palliative care service for the people of North Dublin and surrounding counties.

New In-Patient Unit for Raheny

I am thrilled to share that our new 24-bed single room in-patient unit for St Francis Hospice Raheny has been granted full planning permission. We look forward to starting the build early in the New Year, taking a significant step in the development of our specialist palliative care services for the people of North Dublin and surrounding counties.

Increasing our bed capacity in Raheny from 19 to 24 beds will enable us to provide specialist symptom management and end of life care for an additional 3,000 people over the next 25 years. This development is vital for our growing community.

We have launched our Living Today, Building for Tomorrow campaign to help fund the building of our new in-patient unit and the expansion of our Community Palliative Care services, looking after people in their own homes. The name of the campaign signifies the hospice philosophy of enabling people to live the best quality of life possible when faced with a diagnosis of a life-limiting illness. Hospice supports people physically, psychologically, socially and spiritually, providing individualised care throughout all stages of the person’s illness.

Living Today, Building for Tomorrow invites companies to commit their support and receive a number of benefits in return, including regular reporting on impact to help them to meet their Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) goals in a straightforward and effective way. Employee engagement through corporate volunteering is another way that our corporate partners can get a true sense of the care we provide and the impact their company’s support has for our patients and their families. It is also an opportunity for people who live and work in our community to learn more about palliative care, the positive impact it can have for people, and the care and services provided by St Francis Hospice.

To learn more about Living Today, Building for Tomorrow, please do not hesitate to reach out to my colleague Eimear Kellett , Partnerships and Philanthropy Manager.

?Adult Palliative Care Policy Launch

This month’s publication of the government’s Adult Palliative Care Policy is a welcome development for the hospice movement in Ireland. The strategy laid out in the report includes a goal of universal palliative care for all who need it, remaining free of charge to those availing of the services. The four overarching objectives – giving the Right Care, at the Right Place and Time, by the Right People, and with Good Governance – are all very much in keeping with St Francis Hospice’s commitment to accessibility and quality in the care we provide.

We were delighted to host the policy launch in St Francis Hospice Blanchardstown, where Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly TD and our own Prof. Karen Ryan were joined by Voices for Care representative Marian O’Mahony in celebrating this milestone in palliative care provision for the people of Ireland.

Vote for St Francis Hospice

St Francis Hospice is honoured to be shortlisted in the Charity Excellence Awards in two categories: Employer Excellence Award and Excellence in Leadership. We look forward to the award ceremony on 3rd October and to celebrating the achievements of the entire voluntary sector.

I invite you to vote for St Francis Hospice Dublin in the People’s Choice Award, your opportunity to have your say in the Charity Excellence Awards. Please vote here before 2nd October 2024.

On behalf of all in our St Francis Hospice family, thank you to everyone who helps enable the growth needed to continue providing the highest quality specialist palliative care for members of our community.

St. Francis Hospice Dublin Jason Doyle Cól Campbell Stephen Donnelly Jack Chambers Roderic O'Gorman Charities Institute Ireland

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