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BLOG: Military nurses sign up for garden duty

Nurses’ hands aren’t only for delivering compassionate care. A band of community-minded military nurses put their green fingers to good use recently on voluntary weeding and seeding duty in the grounds of our specialist unit at Turnchapel.

It’s hard graft every day on the wards of Derriford Hospital for the members of the Joint Hospital Group South West, so it was a breath of fresh air for them to roll up their sleeves and lend St Luke’s garden team a hand last week.

When they’d finished outdoors, they spruced up the Memory Tree in the conservatory at Turnchapel, polishing the leaves so that each one shines brightly for the special loved one they honour.

The enthusiastic Armed Forces group were pictured at the end of their afternoon session along with St Luke’s maintenance worker Dave, maintenance volunteer John, and specialist unit nurse Rachel.

Laura Champion, lead for the JHGSW group said: “We really enjoyed the experience and it’s something we would do again. In fact, we would like to make it a regular thing.

“We’d had end of life training, learning about what to do when someone dies on board ship. We decided we wanted to do something useful for St Luke’s for our team building session, so we emailed to offer our services.”

Laura, who toured the specialist unit with group member Poppy Archer-Dunne as part of their first ever visit, added: “We do get patients who go on to be cared for at St Luke’s specialist unit and it really helps to be able to picture where they are coming to.

“We were aware of St Luke’s excellent work in Derriford, but it was so beneficial to get a better understanding of the unit and find out how St Luke’s operates in the community.”

Poppy said that as well as giving St Luke’s a helping hand, the nurses got a lot back from by their visit.

“It’s lovely and peaceful here – it has a very nice vibe. I found it really therapeutic. We were very lucky with the weather, and we were very well looked after.”

Plymouth is the base port for all the nurses – a mix of Royal Navy and RAF personnel. They keep their skills up by working at Derriford in between deployments.

“A lot of the nurses are a long way from home, with many living at HMS Drake, and they don’t know Plymouth very well. It was great for us to get out of the city a bit and enjoy the amazing views here.”

At St Luke’s we welcome volunteer groups from local organisations and businesses. Our corporate volunteering days are great for team building, while supporting end-of-life care in your community. Find out more by emailing corporate@stlukes-hospice.org.uk

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BLOG: Born to ride – A New Year’s wish come true.

For many of our Tour de Moor riders, cycling is their passion and runs through their veins.

This is absolutely true for one of our younger riders, 8-year-old George Lake from Tavistock, who will be achieving his New Year’s wish on Sunday 8 October.

While many toddlers were learning to walk, George was learning to ride. George’s mum Anna Lake, recounts where his love of cycling first started. “He has been into cycling since he was old enough to toddle along on a balance bike – which was when he was about 18 months old! He now loves riding on the moors and going downhill riding at Gawton Gravity hub.”

No stranger to a challenge, George even recently competed in the South West XC series where he came third overall in the Under 8’s category.

Clearly no novice when it comes to cycling, George first heard about our Tour de Moor charity cycling event last year and knew straight away that he wanted to be part of the action this year. So much so, that when writing a list of things he wanted to achieve in 2023 at New Year, one of his wishes was to take part in Tour de Moor and raise money for St Luke’s while doing so.

George has already got his JustGiving page up and running, aiming to raise as much as possible so that we can continue to provide care and support to hundreds of people and their families who are going through the hardest of times.

While the family have not had to call upon our services previously, Anna has seen where St Luke’s sits within our local community and knows how important it is to support our services to prepare for whatever the future may hold.

“Although we don’t have an attachment to St Luke’s in a personal way, we recognise it’s a great local charity doing important work in our community and one day, we may need to call upon their support.”

George will be taking on the 33km route with his dad Matt, which this year has been revamped for an improved ride, featuring plenty of on and off road challenges to put his skills to the test.

During the summer holidays, George has been kickstarting his training in preparation for the event. Anna said: “George rides on the moors most weeks with his dad and over the coming weeks they’ll be doing some longer training rides in the run up to the big day!”

Like George, you don’t have to have witnessed our care first-hand to take part in our Tour de Moor. By taking part and fundraising for our care, you can ensure that yours and your loved ones’ futures are cared for, whatever they may hold.

The registration fee for our Tour de Moor, sponsored by Print, Copy, Scan Ltd, only covers the costs of running the event, which is why the money you raise in sponsorship means so much to us. If every Tour de Moor cyclist commits to raising at least £100, we’ll collectively have enough to care for 100 families at home at the most crucial of times.

What’s more if you raise over £100 in sponsorship and have paid it in by 26 November 2023 you will be entered into a draw to win an exciting prize! So don’t forget to set up your JustGiving page here and join the big-hearted bunch of cyclists taking on Dartmoor in October.

Register now and be part of something special.

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BLOG: On the right lines for vital car park mission

Kind-hearted line painting company JHB were quick to come to the rescue when we needed urgent help to mark out parking spaces for patients’ visitors at our specialist unit.

It’s crucial that visitors coming to see our patients can park easily at our Turnchapel site, especially when time to spend with their loved one is running short. But the original lines were old and worn, making it hard for people to see where the reserved spaces were.

After deciding to relocate the visitor spaces to a safer, more obvious and convenient place, we appealed to Devon firm JHB to complete the job for us. We were thrilled when they jumped at the chance to provide their skills and services free of charge for their local hospice.

“The thought of someone panicking, wanting to get to the hospice quickly and park without a problem really made me think,” said Tom Brooks, JHB’s senior estimator. “We understand that something important like this can pop up when there isn’t the budget for it, so we were delighted to help ease the situation.

“We are quite an open company, always willing to do our bit. There was such a good reason for having this area lined fast. It was a no-brainer for us to be honest.”

Head of Facilicites Louisa Duggan-Smith said: “At St Luke’s our care extends beyond the wards to make sure your experience of our services is positive, friendly and free of unnecessary stresses.

“It’s a priority for visitors coming to see our patients – sometimes urgently – to be able to park easily, close to the main entrance of our specialist unit. That’s been made so much easier with the generosity of this good-hearted local company, and we are so grateful to them.”

JHB is a family firm run by James Hodge-Brooks and his wife, Beth, and Tom is their nephew. Based at South Brent but covering the whole of the UK and into Europe, they paint lines and lettering for major clients, including national highways and large corporate car parks, as well as providing special surfaces for sports grounds and playgrounds.

Tom arranged for one of JHB’s teams to take time out of their busy schedule last week to spend a morning at our Turnchapel site getting the job done urgently and to the highest standards, and he was delighted to come down with them to find out more about the hospice.

“I’d heard about St Luke’s work through family and friends, but on a personal level it was great to come and hear what the organisation does and why it is so important,” he said.

“We had a two-man team – Dave and Adrian – on the job. They had to clean away everything that was there already, and sweep any lose stones away. All the bays had to be set out with a chalk line, then they marked out all the lettering before making the final thermoplastic markings.

“I have to say it does look fantastic with the white parking bays, the lettering and the red walkway lines. Because we did the parking bays, it made the disabled bays on the other side of them look a little bit sad so we refreshed them as well and did the pedestrian symbol too. It’s the small details that count!”

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BLOG: Pushing the pedals for hospice care

Our avid cyclists choose to take on our Tour de Moor for a variety of reasons, including the thrill and challenge. But for many, there is a much more sentimental reason for taking part.

Callum Storr and Cameron Oakley are flying the flag for fundraising in amongst their training for the charity ride on Sunday 8 October.

The 19-year-olds from Plymouth and Lawhitton, Launceston, have not only been pounding the pedals in preparation for the big day, but they have been working hard to secure donations from friends and family as part of their fundraising journeys.

Both friends have experienced the care St Luke’s provides within their families and so decided to honour their relative’s memories by aiming to each raise at least £100 for our compassionate care on their JustGiving pages.

Callum is fundraising in memory of his great grandma, who was cared for by St Luke’s. “What’s better than doing what you love and raising money for a charity which helped my family when my great nan Pat had cancer and needed it the most?” he said. “So, I thought it was my time to give back and to help the charity that helped our family.”

Cameron will be cycling in memory of both his aunt and uncle, Sue Strohmeyer and Peter Oakley, who both received our care.

Cameron said: “My uncle Peter and I shared a birthday but unfortunately I never had the chance to meet him as he died of a heart attack before my birth. I’ve been told by my dad that St Luke’s helped him through his end-of-life process which is very comforting to hear.

“My auntie Sue, I happily had the pleasure of meeting and seeing fairly often when I was younger. She sadly had cancer and in 2012 we thought we would all go on holiday to Turkey for her last holiday. A year later she was the placed under St Luke’s care for her end-of-life care, I always remember going in and talking to her about my day or other day to day things.”

The pair will be taking on the 52km route, which has been enhanced for 2023 and will see them face plenty of on and off-road challenges to put their cycling skills to the ultimate test. Despite the unrelenting rain, they have been busy getting out on their bikes at any opportunity this summer, practising some longer rides to prepare them for the big day.

Callum said: “I’ve only just started getting into mountain biking as a hobby recently because of Cameron, who took me on my first proper mountain bike trail from Burrator Reservoir to Princetown and back where I fell in love with mountain biking. So Cameron told me about Tour de Moor and what it’s about, so I agreed to do it with him while raising money for St Luke’s and doing what I love.”

This will be the second year in a row that Cameron will be taking part in our Tour de Moor, but this year he is determined to raise as much as he can through his fundraising.

He said: “I did Tour De Moor last year for the first time but unfortunately didn’t make a fundraiser page due to me signing up so late. This year I thought I’d do Tour de Moor again but try to raise as much money as I possibly could to help others.”

While jumping on your bike is the first step, many may not realise that your registration fee only covers the costs of running the event, it is the money you raise in sponsorship for our Tour de Moor that makes the real difference. By setting up a JustGiving page like Callum and Cameron, you can help us to continue to provide compassionate end of life care, free of charge, for everyone in our community who needs it.

The inspiring duo have set themselves a goal of each raising £100, with the added challenge of doing the ride in fancy dress as a banana and flamingo if they achieve their goal.

If like Callum and Cameron, every Tour de Moor cyclist commits to raising at least £100, we’ll collectively have enough to care for 100 families at home at the most crucial of times, just like we did for their families.

What’s more if you raise over £100 in sponsorship and have paid it in by 26 November 2023 you will be entered into a draw to win an exciting prize! So don’t forget to set up your JustGiving page here and join the big-hearted bunch of cyclists taking on Dartmoor in October.

Sponsored by Print Copy Scan, a local supplier of printers and copiers, our Tour de Moor challenge is best known as an adrenaline-packed two-wheel quest that can test the skills, fitness, and endurance of even the toughest of cyclists. But it’s so much more than that. With three distances and difficulty levels to choose from, it’s the ultimate inclusive family friendly cycling adventure.

Sign up today here and join us as we ride as one for hospice care.

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BLOG: The next steps in St Luke’s leadership journey

George Lillie will be stepping into the role of Chief Executive of St Luke’s Hospice Plymouth with immediate effect.

Chair of the Board of Trustees, Charles Hackett, and his fellow trustees have invited George, our Deputy Chief Executive and Director of Clinical Services, to be seconded to this key position until at least April 2025 and he has accepted.

Charles said: “The tragic loss of our newly appointed CEO Christina Quinn seven weeks ago left St Luke’s in an upsetting, unsettling, and unprecedented situation, and we have taken time to consider very carefully what the next step should be.

“With his huge experience, enthusiasm, and integrity, we are confident that George is the right person to steer St Luke’s sensitively and effectively, supported by our skilled Senior Management Team, as we work together towards the longer-term future.

“George has been with the organisation since 2001, director of Clinical Services since 2005 and our Deputy CEO since 2017. He has an exceptional passion for palliative care and is a proud champion for St Luke’s services in the wider integrated health care system.”

George said: “It’s an honour for me to take on the role of Chief Executive. I have a real passion for making sure St Luke’s continues to provide the exceptional care we are so rightly renowned for and to keep building on that reputation. I’m also keen to make immediate progress with some of the important projects that are already under way.”

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BLOG: Something old, something new, something borrowed, something St Luke’s?

Weddings are a time of loved ones coming together in celebration. However sometimes when a loved one has died it can be hard imagining such a special day without them.

Danielle Farnaby married her now husband Nathan Wills at Lavender House in Ashburton last month and made sure that a heartfelt tribute to her grandmother was central to her day.

Danielle explains, “My grandmother unfortunately passed away due to cancer, before I was born. My dad has always told me that St Luke’s were absolutely amazing in supporting my grandmother in her final days. So, this charity has always been close to my heart.

“When it came to our wedding, I wanted a way to not only give back to the community, but also incorporate a little bit of my gran’s memory in the process.”

Danielle contacted us to see what options we could provide in honouring her grandmother on her big day.

“When I spoke to St Luke’s, they were so kind and helpful. We decided that I could purchase St Luke’s lottery tickets for my guests, to make the perfect little wedding favours. They even asked for my colour theme and designed a front cover for the tickets, to make them look more appropriate.

“I was so impressed with the final result and everyone was happy to take their ticket, knowing that they could win some pennies!

“Huge thank you to St Luke’s for making this possible. My gran would have been so proud.”

If like Danielle, you would like to show your support to St Luke’s on your wedding day, then get in touch with us to find out more about our personalised wedding favours.

We can provide beautifully designed tent cards with a lottery ticket for each guest for just £1 each. Every lottery number will then be entered into our weekly draw the following Friday after your wedding.

To find out more click here or contact us on 01752 964436/7 to speak to us about your wedding favours.

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