This year is a leap year, and the cost of providing an extra day of care to people living with terminal illness and bereavement across the Harrogate District is £15,500.
To help cover the cost of the extra day of care, the Harrogate Advertiser Leap Year Appeal with Saint Michael's Hospice has been launched, running until December 2020 and the 366th day. By donating to the appeal and supporting Saint Michael's, you are ensuring the needs of the communities they care for are met.
Saint Michael's serves over 150,000 people across the Harrogate District, and the majority of its work is funded by the individuals, companies, trusts and foundations who support them.
Your help will enable Saint Michael's to continue supporting and caring for people who need it most when they are living with a terminal illness or bereavement.
Every patient Saint Michael's cares for and supports is unique, and alongside their families, are at the heart of everything they do. Here are just some of the areas of care that your donation is supporting:
"While a patient is staying with us, we want them to feel like the hospice is their home."
People choose to stay on the 10-bedded Inpatient Unit during the advanced stages of their illness or to manage their symptoms, and receive care from specialist teams.
While staying on the Inpatient Unit, patients and their families have access to a fantastic team of experts, including consultants in palliative medicine, nurses, doctors, physiotherapists, occupational therapists and social workers. They also have access to a wider specialist team of bereavement counsellors, complementary therapists, dietitians and chaplains.
The Inpatient Unit offers 24/7, 365 days a year end-of-life care and also emergency respite care.
Saint Michael's knows that often people wish to receive care and support in the place they call home, in familiar surroundings with family, friends and the things that matter to them.
As part of the HOME service, Saint Michael's healthcare assistants visit people in their own homes to offer support with personal care, daily activities such as bathing and eating, and the monitoring and management of symptoms.
The service helps people to return from hospital sooner, feel more comfortable, and achieve their wish to stay in their preferred place of care for as long as possible. The majority of funding for the service is provided by Harrogate and Rural District Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), with the remaining funding being raised by Saint Michael's.
"I still miss the HOME Service team. They became part of my family and they shared that last day with me."
Steve Ridsdale was cared for by the HOME Service team in the last weeks of his life. Here, his wife Jan describes her experiences of his care.
"Having the HOME Service visiting gave me confidence as I knew he was in safe hands. The staff at Saint Michael's saw Steve as a character and an individual, not just a patient. They took interest in who we are and what we had done.
"Saint Michael's care is all-enveloping and goes above and beyond what you'd expect. I still miss the team. They became part of my family and they shared that last day with me, the worst day of my life."
Just B gives children, young people and adults a safe and confidential space to understand, express and cope with their grief. Just 'B' believes that with the right support, at the right time, children, young people and adults can find a way to manage their grief and embrace a future where they can live and remember that person in a healthy and positive way.
The service offers practical support as well as information and advice for the professionals working with them. It supports people who have experienced any type of bereavement, whether that be through terminal illness, suicide, murder or accident.
"Our family have all benefited from the supported offered by Just 'B'. It is amazing service and we all shout about it from the rooftops."
Emma Lee's daughter Katie accessed support from Just B following the death of her grandma and "best friend".
Any donation, small or large, helps Saint Michael's to continue caring for and supporting people across the Harrogate District. Below are just a handful of examples of how your generous donation can make a difference on one day:
£10 could provide a day of home-cooked meals for one patient.
£28 could provide a home visit for someone in the last weeks of their life from the Saint Michael's HOME Service.
£50 could help facilitate a children and young person's bereavement support session , provided by Just 'B'.
£100 could support with putting together a special occasion for a patient and their family, such as a blessing or wedding on-site.
£350 could help with the offering of crisis response support to a school responding to a sudden death .
£650 could ensure a full day of care for one patient on the Inpatient Unit.
£800 could support the HOME Service to run for a full day.
£3250 could help five patients receive 24 hours of Inpatient Unit care.
£6500 could provide 24 hours of care for 10 patients on our Inpatient Unit.
If you would prefer to donate over the phone, please call the Saint Michael's Supporter Care Team on (01423) 878 628.
Harrogate District Hospice Care is a registered charity in England and Wales (518905) with a family of services operating as Herriot Hospice Homecare, Just B, Saint Michaels Hospice and Talking Spaces. Harrogate District Hospice Care is a company limited by guarantee, registered in England and Wales (2121179). Registered address Crimple House, Hornbeam Park Avenue, Harrogate, HG2 8QL.
* Charities pay a small fee for our service. Find out how much it is and what we do for it.
