St Oswald ’ s – The Last Refuge ?
In previous issues we ’ ve looked at churches that share the name of St Oswald .
This time it ’ s not a parish , but a place of last refuge for those whose lives are drawing to a close that merits our attention .
Situated in the North-East of England , St Oswald ’ s Hospice celebrated its 30 th birthday this year . Their targets are to :
‣ To develop expertise in life-limiting conditions
‣ To expand the children ’ s hospice and facilitate independent living for young adults
‣ To develop a family support service for carers and bereaved adults and children
‣ To develop a funded , community-based network of lymphoedema services
‣ To lead the development of a North East palliative care education centre
‣ To create alliances with other local providers to increase access to palliative care
‣ To ensure co-ordinated out-of-hours palliative care and advice is available across the region
Founded in the 1970 ’ s St Oswald ’ s was the result of the drive and determination of their founders , who felt so strongly that the people of the North East of England should benefit from hospice care , that they set about campaigning for it .
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Over the years , their campaigning role has involved forging partnerships and driving forward an agenda to mainstream hospice care .
Today , they work with a number of partner agencies , most notably Hospice UK and Together for Short Lives , to campaign collectively with other UK hospices about issues affecting adults , children and young people with life limiting conditions .
You can find out more about the work of the hospice at http :// www . stoswaldsuk . org /