The Hospice of St Francis update
The Hospice of St Francis in Berkhamsted is a leading centre of excellence in the provision of palliative and end of life care to adults with life-limiting illnesses living in Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire. The charity’s scope also extends far beyond their primary care service, providing support to family, friends and carers, as well as fundraising events and charity stores.
The rehab team offers a variety of physiotherapy-led group training sessions including Balance and Control and Adapted Tai Chi, as well as occupational therapy-led sessions promoting self-management skills like Fatigue Management and Breathlessness. Based on the evaluation of these exercise programmes by the University of Hertfordshire, it has been shown that 86% of patients believed that exercise helped them cope with their illness, with one patient claiming “it’s amazing what you can achieve when you put your mind to it. The hospice has really helped to give my life back”.
Last year, The Hospital Saturday Fund provided a grant to The Hospice of St Francis. This money was used towards providing 1,039 individual rehab sessions in the last 10 months.
