Our supporters and how we care for people

So many people support St Ann’s Hospice in so many different ways. Whether you make a donation, play our lottery, attend one of our events, or buy from one of our high street or online shops, we’re enormously grateful.

The work we do reaches across numerous communities, and spans a broad range of individuals, each with their own unique needs and wishes.

In fact, the breadth of the work we do at St Ann’s today, compared with almost 50 years ago when we launched is in many ways unrecognisable.  Of course, the world-class levels of care we provide remain, but the range of people we can support now compared with half a century ago is huge.

When I ask people what they think of when they hear the word hospice, they often say the same thing – it’s where people with cancer go to be cared for, and it’s where they die.

It’s true in some respects.  We do, of course, support people with cancer at St Ann’s, and we also help care for those who are approaching the end of their life.  We make their final days as comfortable as possible, and our aim is always to ensure they can live the best life possible, whatever stage they are at in their illness.

But, there’s so much more we do too.  Did you know we can support people with a wide range of life-limiting illnesses?  Whether that’s motor neurone disease, or Parkinsons, multiple sclerosis or organ failure, we can provide care to both patients and their families or carers.  We are there right from the point of diagnosis, through treatment and beyond, and also care for people from our hospice sites, but also via a range of community and outreach services.  We also provide help with controlling symptoms, which often means enabling people to avoid unnecessary hospital stays.

We simply couldn’t do all of this without the support of people from across Greater Manchester.  The care we provide patients is free of charge, but with only around a third of our funding coming from the NHS, the donations we receive are vital to ensure we can carry on caring for local people.

Thanks so much for all you do for us – and for our patients and their families.