Closing of St Peter's Knowle site
Come on people of Bristol, let's support the possibility of a 21st century state-of-the-art hospice for the palliative care of our loved ones and their families.
For over 30 years, St Peter's Hospice in Knowle has given care, love and dedication by its staff and volunteers to all those in need.
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I speak for myself and everyone who has appreciated the dedication whether at Knowle or Brentry.
Knowle is in great need of tender loving care and that will cost money. So, if it is feasible cost-wise, let's have a hospice which will be modern, warm and inviting to everyone who will in the future have a need.
The volunteers and staff, whether at Knowle or elsewhere, will always be dedicated and offer the high standard of Bristol's much-needed St Peter's Hospice.
Susan Baker,
Volunteer.
It is with profound dismay I learn of the imminent closure of the St Peter's Hospice day centre in Knowle and proposed relocation of the in-patient unit.
The lodge was acquired in 1980 to fill a need for in-patient care to support the small team already working in the community since 1978.
It was only possible due to massive voluntary support in every way, from initial fundraising to the medical team, administration coordinator, to name but a few – not to mention the army of volunteers who worked all hours and still do in every sphere of the "sharing and caring".
A new purpose-built unit was built and opened later, leaving the Lodge for day care, and in very recent years, a wonderful conservatory was added – donated and built by a local company.
Later, the Brentry unit was built to help folk on that side of Bristol, and I'm sure there is a need for a day unit there also – not instead of.
Having been employed at the Lodge when it opened, I have continued to support St Peter's, attending 25-year and 30-year celebrations, the annual bazaar (we ran a stall for 12 years) and recently attending the funerals and memorial services of Joan Bourns (our founder) and others.
I met wonderful people during my time there and still cherish the many supportive friends I made through St Peter's.
In May 2007, my beloved husband spent his last few dying days there in the tranquillity and loving care of the whole team, of which volunteers played a very large part.
I pray to God this proposed closure and relocation will not take place.
My ambition is to win the lottery and take it over, complete with volunteers, and extend care to other terminal illnesses, especially dementia sufferers and loved ones. There is a great gap there.
Why wasn't an appeal launched long before now?
Mrs Janice M Morley,
2 Comments
by Mr Jayes, Bristol
Monday, June 01 2009, 7:21AM
“I wondet too how patients and careers feel about the possability of a move to frozen hospital style meals for all patients? When I say possability this has been leaked to my partner who is employed at St Peters to be 99% happening. Kitchen staff at Brentry and Knowle will be made redundant with these changes. These are mostly long term staff who have worked for close to minimum wage for years. As previously mentioned in articles by the post donations to the hospice have not declined and the shops must be doing a great trade in the current climate. To remove freshly cooked food for frozen meals is simply a cost saving measure to the detrimant of patients and staff. Ms Foxall smiths morals leave a lot to be desired.”
by Sam, South Bristol
Sunday, May 31 2009, 8:07PM
“I just wanted to say how utterly disgusted I am at the way in which the caring and compassionate people who are volunteers at St Peter's Hospice in Knowle have been treated by Ms Foxall-Smith.
She has used the excuse that a number of very caring, very experienced volunteers (WHO COINCIDENTLY DON'T SHARE HER OPINION) had to be dismissed because they upset patients by openly discussing the closure of St Peter's. WHAT A LOAD OF RUBBISH!
The impending closure has been widely reported in the Bristol Evening Post and it is only natural that worried patients will ask the staff questions.
My Mum attends this Hospice and we have found it, and the people who work there to be nothing short of fantastic. They provide the utmost in care on both a professional and very personal level in lovely, homely surroundings and I'm positive the patients couldn't agree more!
They have been upset, but not by volunteer helpers, by the actions of Ms Foxall-Smith, firstly because of her plans to close the Hospice and secondly because now they will no longer be seeing the same wonderful volunteers who have spent much valued time with them the next time they visit.
Ms Foxall-Smith could learn a lot from the volunteers for whom she shows such blatant disregard and might do well to consider the needs of staff and patients over and above her own personal agenda.
I am not opposed to a new purpose buit hospice in South Bristol the same as countless others, however to even consider closing St Peter's before a new Hospice is up and running is morally wrong.
These patients are very sick and the last thing they need at this stage in their lives is to be forced to travel longer distances to unfamiliar surroundings to be met by unfamiliar people. They need familiarity, they need stability and they need to be surrounded by the people they know and trust and who understand them and their personal plights.
The staff at St Peter's Hospice do an excellent job of this and they all deserve better!
It seems to me that Ms Foxall-Smith intends to bring about the closure of St Peter's whatever the cost and in order to do so she needs to minimise the opposition!
The biggest upset for the patients at St Peter's is Ms Foxall-Smith.”