Dedicated to the memory of Siân Evans
We are very grateful for the enormous amount of care and support Siân received (and we as a family) from the wonderful St Christopher’s Hospice.
It is now over four years since Siân’s death, and we want to thank you for your incredibly generous support to Siân’s legacy fund.
The Professional Learning team at the Centre for Awareness and Response to End of life (CARE) earlier this year completed a second online Community of Practice (CoP) in End of Life Care for newly qualified nurses now involving some first responders. The CoP for recently qualified General Practitioners (first five years post completed training) in End of Life Care is nearing the end of its year.
These groups have also provided personal support and help for any of the nurses or doctors who need it. We are so delighted as these fit with the two main themes of Siân’s working life: nursing and counselling.
We attach a detailed evaluation of the CoP nursing courses, and an update on the GP course, its contents, evaluations so far, and personal feedback from one of its members in a video.
We will add a fuller evaluation once it is completed.
Hospices and hospitals cannot look after all of us when we die, and so enabling more GPs, community nurses, and communities themselves to have more confidence and competence to help look after and care for the dying feels the right thing to do.
Our steering group of long time nursing friends of Siân’s, palliative care specialist friends and colleagues of mine, and thoughtful questioning friends have agreed we should spend the remaining funds of Siân’s legacy with our hospice on the Mental health support for front line professions - the ShinyMinds App. We will develop with the team at ShinyMinds a masterclass in Grief and Loss to add to their other masterclasses and make the App available to 3000 hospice nurses. At the moment, the App is only available to nurses with a nhs email address. We will keep you informed of our progress on this.
Thank you so much for your support for this important work in memory of Siân.
Wishing that you all are healthy and happy.
Tyrrell and Isabel
October 2024
It is now over four years since Siân’s death, and we want to thank you for your incredibly generous support to Siân’s legacy fund.
The Professional Learning team at the Centre for Awareness and Response to End of life (CARE) earlier this year completed a second online Community of Practice (CoP) in End of Life Care for newly qualified nurses now involving some first responders. The CoP for recently qualified General Practitioners (first five years post completed training) in End of Life Care is nearing the end of its year.
These groups have also provided personal support and help for any of the nurses or doctors who need it. We are so delighted as these fit with the two main themes of Siân’s working life: nursing and counselling.
We attach a detailed evaluation of the CoP nursing courses, and an update on the GP course, its contents, evaluations so far, and personal feedback from one of its members in a video.
We will add a fuller evaluation once it is completed.
Hospices and hospitals cannot look after all of us when we die, and so enabling more GPs, community nurses, and communities themselves to have more confidence and competence to help look after and care for the dying feels the right thing to do.
Our steering group of long time nursing friends of Siân’s, palliative care specialist friends and colleagues of mine, and thoughtful questioning friends have agreed we should spend the remaining funds of Siân’s legacy with our hospice on the Mental health support for front line professions - the ShinyMinds App. We will develop with the team at ShinyMinds a masterclass in Grief and Loss to add to their other masterclasses and make the App available to 3000 hospice nurses. At the moment, the App is only available to nurses with a nhs email address. We will keep you informed of our progress on this.
Thank you so much for your support for this important work in memory of Siân.
Wishing that you all are healthy and happy.
Tyrrell and Isabel
October 2024
Contribute
When thinking about this fund, Isabel suggested we should focus on Siân’s nursing background. So any funds this site receives will support nursing education & training in EoLC locally & nationally.
Thoughts
As Tyrrell's registrar at Paxton Green from 2003-2006 I was warmly invited into Tyrrell and Siân’s lives. They came to my wedding together in 2005, Siân and I had bonded over the fact we had attended the same secondary school - LEHS, although Siân had excelled at Lacrosse whereas I had not!
I have been delighted recently to have had a very small input into the development of the St Christopher's community of practice group for GPs, supported by Siân’s legacy, following in the footsteps of the successful peer support groups for nurses and paramedics.
Details can be found at https://www.stchristophers.org.uk/course/gps-community-of-practice/.
I know Tyrrell attended their first meeting recently, which was held on Teams. Just this week I appraised a GP who specifically mentioned that in a post-covid world of changing access - supporting those in need of palliative care was ever more challenging and that those with palliative care needs and general frailty were the ones she felt she had the most developmental needs around. I was able to recommend this group to her as a source of education and support as she aims to provide the highest quality of care to her patients in South London. The group is accessible for GPs across the country as it is held remotely.
Thankyou Tyrrell, Isabel and the team at St Christopher's for your dedication to this project to empower a new generation of nurses, GPs and associate colleagues in delivering compassionate high quality palliative care to our patients.
Much love
Becky Whitnall
Dr Becky Whitnall GP, GP Educator
15th December 2023
As today would have been Sian's birthday, I wanted to leave a quick message to say that I am thinking of you all.
Maaike Vandeweghe
Head of Professional Learning Programmes and CARE Co-Lead at St Christopher's CARE
Maaike Vandweghe
2nd October 2023
Yesterday would have been Siân and my 50th Wedding Anniversary. Isabel organised for us and some close friends to walk the route we took on our wedding day through Hampstead, Church Row, St Johns Church and then up to Fenton House where we had our reception. It was lovely day and after the walk we went for lunch locally. I gave a short speech and I wanted to repeat part of it here.
I must thank you all for contributing to Siân’s legacy with the hospice. We raised over 37 thousand pounds in her name and have funded the first year of a course in End of Life Care (EoLC) for Newly Qualified Nurses around the country and will now do a second year for nurses, and run a similar course for GPs of all ages. The principle here is that not everyone dying needs hospice care, and many should be able to be cared for by their GP, district nursing teams, family and friends. But confidence and competence in EoLC has fallen in GPs and nurses, so doing something positive to help address that seems perfect. Thank you all again.
Tyrrell
22nd July 2023
Candles
Thinking of you this Christmas time as you remember Sian. Amidst the Christmas celebrations, there is sadness when we remember those who should be with us. We hope that your memories bring comfort and help you smile. Thank you for supporting St Christopher’s in memory of Sian.
Lit by St Christopher's Hospice on 22nd December 2022
Thinking of you all today and remembering Sian. Thank you for ensuring her legacy lives on at St Christopher's through the Community of Practice project.
Lit by St Christopher's Hospice on 8th March 2022
