Plymouth charity celebrates 40 years of compassionate care
In 1982 St Luke’s Hospice welcomed its first patients, and has been providing specialist care for terminally ill people ever since
Last updated 25th Jan 2022
A Plymouth charity is getting ready to mark a special milestone today.
On 25 January 2022, it will be 40 years since St Luke’s Hospice Plymouth welcomed its first patients.
St Luke’s heralded the arrival of a completely new concept for the city - specialist care for terminally ill people as in-patients in a home-from-home environment, rather than in hospital - to ensure their comfort and dignity at the end of their lives.
From this grew the St Luke’s of today, looking after the majority of its patients at home and at University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust, with only those with the most complex symptoms needing admission to its site in Turnchapel.
Now, the charity is using its 40th anniversary to say thank you to all its supporters for their volunteering and fundraising efforts, plus the legacies that play an important part in helping them plan for their future.
From participating in its weekly lottery to donating to its charity shops and taking on sponsored challenges like Midnight Walk and Men’s Day Out, support from the community has enabled St Luke’s to survive despite the ever-increasing costs of running its 24-hour service 365 days a year.
Chief Executive of St Luke’s, Steve Statham, said: "What started in the early 1980s as the idea of a small group of parishioners led by the Rev John Watson of St Andrew’s Church in Plymouth grew to become what St Luke’s is today, the main provider of end of life care for the city and its surroundings areas, looking after around 300 patients on any one day.
"Quite simply though, we would never have come into existence – let alone still be helping local families four decades on – without the unstinting support we receive from the community around us.
"All who give to the hospice, whether as volunteers or through donations and fundraising, do so in the knowledge that they are supporting something of priceless value, the highly skilled, compassionate care people need at the end of their lives so that they can feel as at ease as possible and make precious memories with loved ones.
"A huge thank-you to all our supporters. Please keep doing what you do because we are going to need you more than ever as we strive to meet the increasing demand on our services."
Steve Statham - Chief Executive of St Luke’s Hospice Plymouth
In the last six years demand for St Luke’s care has increased by 37%.
Over 50% of hospice care is delivered at home with the remaining in hospital. Only 5% of care is delivered in a traditional hospice building.
Some of the innovators from St Luke's early days have been sharing their reflections.