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Today [Friday 11 May], we announced our vision for the future at a special event to launch our new Five Year Strategy [2018 – 23], which was attended by the Rt. Hon Philip Hammond MP.
Woking & Sam Beare Hospices delivers care and support to patients with life-limiting illnesses, as well as supporting their carers and family members, to a region with a population of approximately 360,000 people [which includes Spelthorne, West Elmbridge, Surrey Heath, Runnymede, Woking and North Guildford]. Our services are a life-line to many people with life-limiting illnesses and their families. It is therefore imperative that our services are accessible to all those that need them.
Jayne Cooper, CEO of Woking & Sam Beare Hospices, comments: “The face of hospice care and its role within the community is changing across the UK, this is largely due to our communities living longer but there is also a shift in how we provide our specialist palliative care services. We are a central part of a coordinated approach with our healthcare colleagues from across our region for patients with life-limiting illnesses. Now our new state-of-the-art hospice has been open for almost one year, it is time to reflect on all of our learning and to look to the future to ensure our services are of the highest standards and that they are accessible to all who need them.”
The purpose of the hospice’s launch event, attended by the Rt. Hon Philip Hammond MP, whose constituency of Weybridge and Runnymede forms part of the region that Woking & Sam Beare Hospices delivers care across, is to engage our community in our plans for the future.
Ms Cooper adds: “Our Five Year Strategy [2018 – 2023] sets out our organisational goals and ambitions and is reflective of the changing face of hospice care. Through the delivery of innovative and collaborative working with other healthcare providers, partners, supporters, other organisations and our community, we have set out key priorities for the organisation. This includes our plans for developing a robust and sustainable model of specialist palliative care and building solid two-way engagement across our community.”
As part of the event, Mr Hammond was taken on a tour of the new Woking Hospice facility in Goldsworth Park Centre. He then join a number of hospice key supporters for a short presentation about the hospice’s plans for the next five years.
Jayne Cooper concludes: “We are a central part of the Surrey Community and announcing our plans in this way is an opportunity for us to share with the community what we plan to deliver for them over the next five years. For many of our patients we only get one chance to get it right and this is the most important driver for the delivery of our new strategy.
I am very grateful to Mr Hammond for taking time out of his busy schedule to join us at our launch event. I am excited about the future of hospice care and I feel honoured to be leading such an innovative and forward thinking organisation such as Woking & Sam Beare Hospices. But we could not do all we do without our staff, volunteers, supporters and partners. I therefore would like to take this opportunity on behalf of all of us at the hospice to say thank you and we look forward to our continued future journey together.”
To read more about our Five Year Strategy and our vision for the future please click here.
5th December 2017
HRH The Countess of Wessex GCVO opens Woking Hospice
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Woking & Sam Beare Hospices leads the way in UK hospice care with a Royal opening of its brand new state-of-the-art hospice in Woking, Surrey.
We were delighted to welcome HRH The Countess of Wessex GCVO for a special tour of our brand new hospice care facility in Goldsworth Park Centre, Woking on Tuesday 05 December. As part of this visit Her Royal Highness officially opened the 20-bed facility, on a day that was a celebration of what the hospice, its staff and volunteers have achieved. As well this day was the perfect opportunity to thank those supporters who have made the new build possible.
We care for over 1,400 patients, their carers and families each year. We specialises in delivering holistic care for patients with progressive advanced conditions free of charge across Surrey and our care is delivered in the community in patient homes, in care or nursing homes or through its in-patient ward in the hospice; as well as through the Bradbury Wellbeing Centre, which offers day care services to all its patients and carers.
Jayne Cooper, CEO of Woking & Sam Beare Hospices, comments: “The decision to merge Sam Beare Hospice in Weybridge and the original Woking Hospice to a brand new state-of-the-art purpose build was primarily because we put our patients at the heart of all we do. Hospice care over the years has changed and the demands on our services have increased. We provide very personal and unique care and support plans for patients who often have very complex needs. Our new build means we are now able to provide the very best in facilities; as well as creating a hub and centre of excellence in palliative care that better enables us to increase the effectiveness of our services to the changing and growing demands of our communities across Surrey.
We were honoured and delighted that HRH The Countess of Wessex led our celebrations today and, after a period of huge transition, officially opened our new Woking Hospice. During her visit Her Royal Highness met with patients and their loved ones, our team of staff and supporters, without whom we could not deliver all we do.”
As part of HRH The Countess of Wessex’s tour she meet several patients and their families on the ward, as well as a truly special birthday treat for one patient who was celebrating her 70th birthday. Then when HRH visited the Bradbury WellBeing Centre she was able to make a wish come true for day patient Tom Callaghan, who has always wanted to meet a member of the Royal family.
To mark the occasion HRH The Countess of Wessex unveiled our official opening plaque and signed the hospice visitors’ book and she spoke of how impressed she was with the building and thanked all those who have contributed to make the new hospice possible.
This very special visit then concluded with HRH being presented with a bouquet of flowers by Chloe Boyes age 13. Chloe was six when her dad was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease, and she was just eight when he died. Chloe has raised over £2,000 for the hospice and at the Italian dinner in November this year she spoke in front of over 300 people about how much being part of the hospice’s bereavement support group for teenagers, Tommy D, has meant to her.
Jayne Cooper concludes: “We have been on an incredible journey over the last two years and I am extremely proud of all we have achieved. None of this would have been possible without our staff and volunteers, but also because of the generosity of so many wonderful supporters. This is a time to celebrate and I am excited about the future and being a critical part of leading the way in hospice care for many more thousands of patients, their carers and families.”
Hospice gets a ‘gold’ RHS Chelsea Flower Show makeover
We are very excited to announce our partnership with 2017’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show Gold Medal Winner Charlotte Harris, who has designed the hospice gardens at your new state-of-the-art hospice facility in Goldsworth Park Centre, Woking.
Landscape Designer Charlotte Harris is the founder and co-owner of Harris Bugg Studios with Hugo Bugg, who is also a Chelsea multi-medal winner. They are two of the UK’s most exciting designers to emerge in recent years.
Woking & Sam Beare Hospices cared for Charlotte’s Mother, who sadly passed away in 1999.
Charlotte comments: “My earliest memories are of Mum in the garden. It is therefore a wonderful tribute to her, and as a way to be able to give something back to the care provider that did so much for her and for me, by being able to design the hospice’s gardens. I am greatly inspired by the work of hospices and I see a strong alignment with the principles underpinning my own landscaping work/vision. It is therefore my privilege to be able to do this.”
The hospice has three garden spaces: the Retreat Garden, which is at the front of the hospice next to its café that will shortly be open to the public; the Wildlife Garden, which is to the rear; and the Encircling Garden, which follows the perimeter of the hospice’s grounds. Charlotte is designing and advising on the landscaping and planting and she will be leading the planting on the Retreat Garden with Willerby’s Landscapers and the hospice’s garden volunteers.
Jayne Cooper, CEO of Woking & Sam Beare Hospices, adds: “We are so proud of our fabulous new state-of-the-art facility that we are now able to provide the Surrey community with. Our patients and their families and carers are at the heart of everything we do and our motivation has been to create the very best possible environment for all who come to and/or stay at the hospice. We are therefore thrilled to have the prestige of our gardens designed and landscaped by Charlotte Harris. It only seems fitting to have the same quality outside the hospice as in.”
Woking & Sam Beare Hospices could not deliver the level of productivity it does across its clinical services, retail outlets and in support of its other departments without the generosity of the community.
Jayne adds: “We are extremely grateful to Charlotte and honoured to have such fabulous garden design. I would also like to take the opportunity to extend a special thank you to the family who made an extremely generous donation towards the Retreat Garden, but would like to remain anonymous. None of this would have been possible without Willerby’s Landscapers who are providing their contractual support and Deepdale Trees, which equates to a considerable value. And of course to all of our volunteers. On behalf of all of us at the hospice and those who benefit from our care – thank you.”
It is anticipated that the Retreat Garden will take up to 3 – 4 weeks to be completed. During this time part of the hospice’s visitor car park will be out of use for visitors as designating space will need to be reserved for the garden contractors. The hospice hopes that this will not cause any inconvenience to visitors and apologies in advance.
Jayne Cooper concludes: “This is such an exciting time for all of us at Woking & Sam Beare Hospices and for future developments in specialist palliative care. The generosity of the community in support of our New Build Capital Appeal has been incredible. Like many charity’s we are hugely reliant on voluntary income and there are many different ways for anyone of any age to support us and the work we deliver to over 1,400 patients and their families across Surrey.
Our doors are open to the whole community and not just to those we care for. Please do visit us and at the same time see Charlotte’s fabulous garden developments or sample the menu when our new café opens to the public next week.”
If you would like to join our team of volunteers please visit our volunteers page.
27th August 2017
Bishop Andrew visits new state-of-the-art hospice
On Wednesday 24 August Bishop of Guildford, the Rt Revd Andrew Watson, visited Woking & Sam Beare Hospice’s new state-of-the-art building in Goldsworth Park, Woking. The Bishop was welcomed by the charity’s Chief Executive, Jayne Cooper, who showed the Bishop around the new purpose build facility, before he went to meet patients and staff on the ward alongside the hospice’s Lay Chaplain Ann Hugget and Rev’d Kate Wyles, vicar at the local St Andrew’s Church.
“I’m thrilled that the Bishop could come along today and have a look at our fantastic new hospice,” said Chief Executive Jayne Cooper. “He was really interested to learn more about the work we do, both here at the hospice and also in the community, and I think also surprised to discover that we need to raise more than £8 million each year to provide our vital services free of charge to the local community.”
The informal visit lasted two hours, and the Rt Revd Andrew Watson was shown all areas of the new hospice including the café, which is set to open on the 11th September, the Bradbury Wellbeing Centre, where day patients can access physiotherapy, counselling and complementary therapies facilities, the clinical offices, where he met with Consultant in Palliative Medicine Bernadette Lee. He also visited the hospices’ onsite education centre before moving onto the ward, where he meet nurses and patients.
Woking & Sam Beare Hospices opened their new state-of-the-art 20 bedroom hospice, each with en-suite bathrooms and balconies, in mid-May 2017. They care for over 1,400 patients both on their wards and in patients own homes, where over 70% of their care is delivered. They offer care for the whole family throughout the North West Surrey region, enabling patient choice and the best quality of life for people coping with a life-limiting illness.
22nd August 2017
Gold medal standards for new hospice garden
Woking & Sam Beare Hospice has joint forces with RHS Chelsea Flower Show Gold Medal Winner Charlotte Harris, who with the help of the hospices volunteers, on Monday 21 August started the landscaping, which will take 2-3 weeks to complete.
Three very special garden spaces will be created; the Retreat Garden, which will be accessible from the hospice’s front of house café; the Wildlife Garden, at the rear of the building, and finally the Encircling Garden, which will follow the perimeter of the hospice grounds.
Charlotte, who is greatly inspired by the work of Woking & Sam Beare Hospices, sees a strong alignment with the principle underpinning her own landscaping vison and was therefore keen to put her talents to use for the local charity. Her mother was also under the care of the hospice, and sadly passed away in 1999. According to Charlotte, the earliest memories she has of her Mother are of her in the Garden, so this project will be a special tribute to her.
The gardens could not become a reality without the support of local supporters and Woking & Sam Beare Hospices are extremely grateful to the Willerby’s Landscapers for their contractual support, and to Groundwork UK, who as part of Tesco’s ‘Bags of Help’ scheme are contributing towards the development.
The hospice is also very grateful for the help and support provided by its fantastic volunteers. These include a wonderful team of ten gardeners, some of whom work for Wisley Gardens. They will be working closely alongside Charlotte during this process and also will be learning how to continue to maintain the gardens going forward.
If you would like to be a part of the garden development or are interested in funding opportunities, please get in touch.
It’s an exciting time for Woking & Sam Beare Hospices, as all the departments have now moved into our new offices that are adjacent to your new state-of-the-art hospice in Goldsworth Park Centre, Woking. This will be the first time that all of the clinical teams and non-clinical teams will be working together from one site.
However, given the size of our region across Spelthorne, Runnymede, West Elmbridge, Surrey Heath, Woking and North Guildford, Surrey residences are reminded that the Sam Beare Community Team are still based in Weybridge. As a hospice care provider we are also far more than just a building and over 75% our care is in patient homes across the region we cover and this work will continue as normal.
Jayne Cooper, CEO of Woking & Sam Beare Hospices, comments: “When I look back over the last 18 months – two years I am so proud of all we have achieved – a brand new incredible hospice and now all of our teams together in one site. We couldn’t have done this without the community’s support during this time of change and transition, as well as an amazing team of staff and volunteers. It is fabulous that we can now all be together in one place. This will enhance our services both in the hospice but also across the community. I’m excited to see what the future holds for Woking & Sam Beare Hospices and for specialist palliative care.”
We are also honoured to have 2017’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show Gold Medal Winner Charlotte Harris, coming to begin the work in our gardens from Monday 21 August.
As a local charity, our community, is vital to the work we do and the services we provide. There are many ways that you can support your local hospice. To find out more, please click here or call: 01483 881750.
To see the transformation of our offices, please see below:
