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