We provide free care services to people in Bolton with life-limiting illnesses, it costs £400 every hour for us to do this, and as an independent charity we have to fundraise the first £300 every hour, every day of the year.
The expert palliative care we provide addresses all patient needs, not just the physical such as the relief of pain and other symptoms, but also psychological and spiritual care. We aim to enhance the quality of life and also positively influence the course of illness.
Our consultant led team of doctors, nurses and healthcare professionals are dedicated to providing patients, their families and carers with the support required to ease their burden and maintain their dignity as they face enormous personal challenges.
We provide this care both at the hospice and also in the homes of patients who are in the final stages of life.
Wow, what a tremendous job this team of volunteers has done tidying up the front of one of our charity shops 🤩
Fueled on by bacon butties and brews, a number of volunteers generously gave up their Bank Holiday to give our Astley Bridge shop a bit of TLC. We think you'll agree it looks much better without the weeds, and with neatly trimmed hedges!
Thank you to everyone who came and helped!
Not a week goes by where I’m not blown away by the generosity and hard work of our volunteers.
Hats off to the team of volunteers and staff who have given up their Bank Holiday Sunday to weed, prune, trim and generally work wonders on our car park at Astley Bridge.
Amazing job guys!!
From first steps to running a year! 👣🏃♀️
11 years ago, Esmé took her very first steps in our Garden of Tranquility, during a special birthday BBQ with her Uncle Andrew, who was being cared for at Bolton Hospice.
11 years later, after finding an old running top belonging to her uncle, Esmé decided to take on the incredible challenge of running every day for a year, raising money for Bolton Hospice in her Uncle Andrew's memory 💜
Last week we were delighted to invite Esmé and her mum back to the hospice to check in with her after 3 weeks of running at least a mile everyday. We heard all about her runs, from wet and muddy to swelteringly hot, from beautifully scenic routes to squeezing in sprints between dance show rehearsals!
Esmé's mum pointed out where she had taken her first steps while visiting her uncle, and reminisced about the special family memories they'd had the opportunity to create at the hospice. Esmé was gutted she was too little to remember the pizza night they'd all had! 🍕
We're truly inspired by Esmé, her determination and compassion, and we can't wait to see all of her updates on 'Esmé runs a year' on Facebook
A message from our CEO, Dr (h.c) Leigh Vallance:
"Bolton Hospice is proud to be at the heart of our wonderfully rich and diverse community.
We stand in solidarity against the hate fuelled Islamophobia of far-right thugs who’ve been riled up by lies and racist ideology.
We’d like to thank Bolton Council, GM Police, Bolton Council of Mosques and all our VCFSE (Voluntary, Community, Faith, & Social Enterprise Sector) and NHS allies who are working to counter this.
The widely publicised threat on social media by the far right to “protest” outside a law firm near to Bolton Hospice last night did not come to fruition, because of actions taken by Government nationally and locally, co-ordinating positive messages, providing re-assurance and protection.
We acknowledge the peaceful and respectful behaviour of the counter protesters who gathered to stand against the hate and attempts to disrupt our community.
Bolton is a wonderfully rich and diverse community who stands together in the face of actions designed to divide us.
We are Bolton. We are proud. We will not be divided."
📸 Henry Lisowski
Congratulations to our Chairman, the new Dr (h.c) Judith Bromley, who last week was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Law from The University of Bolton!
Judith has been recognised for her exceptional contributions to both the field of law, and for her charitable work as trustee and Chairman of Bolton Hospice - congratulations Dr Judith 🎉💜
This week we've said a heartfelt goodbye to Mel & Jacqui, who work across our Hospice at Home and Wellbeing Hub Teams 😢 Lots of our staff and volunteers came together to thank them for their service and give them the send off they deserve.
As our Wellbeing Hub Service Lead, Jacqui has worked tirelessly to develop the flexible, drop-in support service for local people with life-limiting illnesses, and their families 💜 Thank you, Jacqui!
Mel is currently a Senior Sister in our Hospice at Home team, but has worked across various clinical teams over the 32 years she's worked at Bolton Hospice - that's right, Mel has been with us since the hospice first opened! We can't begin to imagine how many families Mel has cared for over the years 💜 Thank you, Mel, and enjoy your well-deserved retirement!
#LongService#Retirement#NewChapter
"We don't call it a group anymore..."
"...We call it a family." 💜💜💜
On Friday we were honoured to host a special meeting of Bolton Pulmonary Fibrosis, a patient-led group for those living with pulmonary fibrosis, and their carers.
The group regularly meet at our Wellbeing Hub, where they offer pulmonary rehabilitation sessions, but this one-off meeting brought together patients, carers, and leading figures in pulmonary fibrosis care and research, for the chance to address issues facing local #Bolton residents living with the condition.
Chairman of the group Steve, kicked off the panel by thanking Bolton Hospice, likening the group now to a family, where "every single member of staff knows us by name" and where "the support and encouragement we get here is second to none".
Thank you, Steve, for organising such a fantastic panel discussion, and to all of the panel members for joining us!
Kirith Entwistle, MP for Bolton North East
Michael Smith, CEO Bolton GP Federation
John Goddard, Wythenshawe Medicines Evaluation Unit
Steve Jones, European Pulmonary Fibrosis Federation
Jean-Michel Fourrier, France Pulmonary Fibrosis Association
Chairman at Bolton Pulmonary Fibrosis Support Group
The biggest attendance we have ever had. yesterday we held our monthly meeting but it was made special by our distinguished guests. Jean-Michel Fourrier from Boredeux France, President France Pulmonary Fibrosis Association, Steve Jones Trustee and former President of Action for Pulmonary Fibrosis, Kirith Entwistle newly appointed Labour MP for Bolton Northeast. Dr Michael Smith CEO Bolton GP Federation, John Goddard Manager of the Medicines Evaluation Centre base at Wythenshawe Hospital. There was more than 40 patient’s, carers, senior respiratory doctors & consultants. it was a very interesting and lively meeting. Kirith Entwistle MP was the first special guest to start the meeting. She was very aware of the disease Pulmonary Fibrosis and how it affects & impacts on people’s lives. She promised to do everything within her power to bring Pulmonary Fibrosis to the House of Westminster. She also offered to sponsor an open forum at Portcullis House Westminster, like we had last October Sponsored by Mark Logan MP. Dr Micheal Smith was very interested to hear the difficulties and barriers patients experienced getting the condition recognised by GP'S & prompt referral to ILD Consultants for a definitive diagnosis. He explained the complexities & red tape involved in getting changes made in the NHS. He expressed that pressure from outsider groups, like us had a greater chance of success. Steve Jones from action for Pulmonary Fibrosis spoke about the vast work they were doing with pharmaceutical companies like Boehringer Ingelheim, private & hospital-based research institutes & centres. The provision of research grants Encouraging & supporting new patient support groups to open and flourish. John Goddard manager of the Medicines Evaluation Centre told us of the vast work they do in research & clinical trials not just for respiratory conditions like PF but other equally devastating conditions. we were pleased to hear John announce the start of 3 new drug trials for pulmonary fibrosis, s. Finally, Jean-Machel Fourrier who outlined the shortage of specialist centres & hospitals. People having to travel great distances to obtain specialist consultants & treatments. John-Michel in his role was designated with the task of setting up patient support groups across France, this was the purpose of his visit to the Bolton Group back in November 2020. He had followed the work & activities of the Bolton Group on social media. He wanted to transfer the ethic & the model which the Bolton Group had nurtured and developed. From our help and support he was pleased to say they now had 8 groups throughout France. They would have liked more but COVID halted that. We hope we will see Jean-Michel again in the future, with news of many more support groups across France. The feedback from the meeting was excellent, members had found the meeting very interesting & informative as to what the future holds for Pulmonary Fibrosis
With just over a week to go until our annual Golf Day, we have space for just 3 more teams to join us on the fairways ⛳️
If you and 3 colleagues or friends fancy a tee-rrific day of 18 holes of golf, lunch, a 2 course dinner, and chances to raise vital funds for Bolton Hospice, we'd love to hear from you!
Find out more here 👇
https://lnkd.in/eQ3x8BEG
We're wishing loads of luck to Andy & Igor from Philadelphia Scientific UK as they take on Tough Mudder this weekend, raising vital funds for Bolton Hospice!
The duo decided to take on the challenge to support their local hospice, which holds particular importance to Igor 👇
"When Andy asked me if I'd like to take part, I said yes without hesitation. Bolton Hospice provides important care to those with life-limiting illnesses and their families. This hits close to home for me because my mom was a victim of cancer. We didn't have access to the type of services that the hospice provides, so we had to take care of her by ourselves. It was a difficult journey for my mom and our family. I learned from this experience that it's extremely hard to look after a loved one when you're hurting yourself and trying to remain positive. That's why I'm so grateful for the work that the Bolton Hospice is doing. They're making a difference in people's lives, and I wanted to be a part of that."
Thank you Andy & Igor for choosing to raise much-needed funds for Bolton Hospice, and helping us to be there for families when they need us most 💜
You can find out more about Andy & Igor's challenge, and support them here 👉https://lnkd.in/diQ_MDnY
"I'm making a difference. Making people feel happy and comfortable. I go home and feel good about what I've done."
With a whole range of brilliant benefits, an incredibly supportive team, and knowing you're making a difference everyday, Bolton Hospice really is a great place to work.
But don't just take it from us, hear from everyone who's already taken that next step and joined our team!
There are a number of current opportunities for you to join the Bolton Hospice team, and make a real difference caring for people with terminal and life-limiting illnesses, and their families.
Whether you see yourself as our new Wellbeing Hub Senior Staff Nurse, fancy bringing your Health Care Assistant experience to our team of Bank Clinical Support Nurses, or want to take the next step in your career as Inpatient Unit Sister, Senior Staff Nurse or Staff Nurse, we'd love to hear from you!
Find out more and apply now: https://lnkd.in/eThk2Ev2
We love this quick snap of some of our tea-riffic volunteers enjoying a well-deserved brew break in the sun this morning ☕️☀️
As a Bolton Hospice volunteer, you’re not only helping us to continue caring for local people with terminal and life-limiting illnesses, you’re giving yourself the opportunity to make new friends, just like this trio here!
We’re always happy to chat to anyone interested in finding out more about #volunteering!
