A column by Hayley Wardle, Ashgate Hospice’s Director of Quality and Patient Care  

It is unbelievable to think that I qualified as a nurse 35 years ago, but I have never been prouder than when I joined Ashgate Hospice in 2015 as the Director of Quality and Patient Care. 

For those that aren’t aware, Ashgate cares for people living with a condition that requires palliative care and treatment or care at the end of their lives.  

We are here for the people of North Derbyshire and beyond; working together with care and compassion so that people can live their best life, die in the place of their choosing and know that their loved ones are important too, and will be taken care of. 

At Ashgate, we pride ourselves on really understanding what is most important to our patients and their families and work in collaboration with other health and social care colleagues across North Derbyshire to ensure that people live well, right up to and including the end of their lives. 

Then our supportive care teams ensure that those left behind keep on living their lives whilst keeping those special memories alive.  

Despite the challenges everyone has faced since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, thanks to the continued support of our staff and volunteers, we have been able to continue caring for the patients and families who need us most.  

And in what has been an incredibly difficult 12 months, our teams have shined through and achieved so many fantastic things.  

From our shops who brought in record sales following the lockdown to help fund our care to our Day Services team opening our first Community Hub in Chesterfield – I’m truly proud of everyone who has worked so hard to ensure we can support people nearing the end of their lives and those closest to them.  

One moment that really stands out is receiving a top national award from the Royal College of Nursing in recognition of our infection prevention and control measures at our Inpatient Unit. Their hard work and scrupulous approach to infection prevention allowed patients to continue to safely receive visitors throughout the pandemic.  

Ashgate is one of the few hospices in the UK which cared for COVID positive end-of-life patients, so it was crucial for us to ensure our patients and their families experienced dignity, respect, and love during their final days.  

It’s wonderful that the vital work our Inpatient Unit team do has been recognised. I’m very proud to say I work alongside them. 

We are very fortunate to receive a huge amount of support from individuals and businesses of all sizes across North Derbyshire who are incredibly generous and never appear to tire in responding to our appeals for help.  

This year we launched our Winter Appeal and have been asking for people to make donations to us, as this winter we are experiencing the greatest demand on our services yet. We are facing increasing COVID cases, as well as winter flu, which will mean more beds will be needed for those too unwell to be cared for at home.  

Backing our Winter Appeal will mean we can continue to provide compassionate end of life care at a crucial time and support the wider health system as we did last year.  

I am a mum and a grandparent, and I want to ensure that Ashgate is here to support my family and all families in North Derbyshire into the future.

Make a donation to support Ashgate’s Winter Appeal here.