If you ever visit our specialist unit at Turnchapel one of the first things you will notice are the carefully cultivated gardens surrounding the hospice building.
Every Wednesday a group of 6 volunteers have been giving up their time to dedicate some care and love to our gardens, keeping them pruned, de-weeded and full of life. Their hard work creates a peaceful, welcoming space for patients, families and staff to enjoy – a place where nature offers comfort and calm during difficult times.
A sprinkling of Christmas cheer has brightened up our specialist unit this week.
A group of kind-hearted volunteers from Land Registry, Plymouth volunteered their time to decorate the Christmas trees that have generously been donated to St Luke’s by Blue Diamond Endsleigh Garden Centre Ivybridge.
The team spent the day adding touches of tinsel and baubles to the entrance, reception and on the wards, bringing some festive joy to not only the people staying with us, but their families, visitors and all our staff and volunteers.
Bereavement is hard at any time of year, but the festive season – and Christmas itself -can feel particularly challenging for anyone experiencing grief. No-one understands this more than us. As well as providing specialist end-of-life care for people with terminal illness, we offer their family members bereavement support too.
This week (2-8 December) is National Grief Awareness Week, in association with The Good Grief Trust. The aim of the week is to raise awareness of grief, highlight the support on offer and to normalise conversations around it.
Hundreds of generous-spirited cyclists pedalled with a purpose on Sunday to make this year’s St Luke’s Hospice Plymouth’s Tour de Moor bike challenge a memorable and successful occasion.
Wearing striking orange branded T-shirts, more than 900 riders turned the wild landscape of Dartmoor into a thrilling two-wheeler spectacle while raising vital funds to support the charity’s compassionate end-of-life care for local people and their families.
With her signature blend of nature-inspired creativity, her passion for protecting the environment and her strong sense of community spirit, Plymouth artist Ellie Johnson, aka Mrs Murals, is a beacon of enthusiasm for St Luke’s Hospice Plymouth’s Guiding Lights art trail and auction spectacular that’s set to dazzle the city’s streets in summer 2026.
As one of two launch artists, alongside St Luke’s patron and celebrated city painter Brian Pollard, in May Mrs M proudly unveiled the design she created for a small scale lighthouse that will travel to different locations across South West and West Devon and into Cornwall in the lead-up to the event, encouraging public engagement and support for the hospice.
Clinical Nurse Specialist Jamie Jennings has made it a hat trick for St Luke’s after receiving the prestigious title of Queen’s Nurse.
It’s a title currently held by only 3,000 nurses in the UK – including St Luke’s Nurse Consultant Jen Nicholls and Clinical Nurse Specialist Debbie Hutchinson – and it represents a commitment to the highest standards of patient care, learning and leadership.
When our care teams look after patients, they get to know them on a personal level, understanding their interests and learning about their backgrounds, to make sure the care they receive is personalised and unique to them.
When Health Care Assistant Lynn Collins got to know Pam Appleby when visiting as part of our community team, she learnt of her lifelong love of horses and started thinking of how she could give Pam some special lasting memories to help brighten her days.
What resulted was a visit from two ponies from Dartmoor Carriages called Peanut and Wizzle to Pam’s front garden this week.
We were excited to officially open our new shop in the heart of Plymstock this week, welcoming customers in search of budget-friendly buys that support vital services for the community.
As customers browsed for bargains at our new Plymstock Broadway store on Monday, they were treated to live music courtesy of talented performers from Plymstock School.
Easy to find, the shop is located just a few doors down from the St Luke’s outlet it has replaced. Bright, modern, and double the size of its predecessor, it offers shoppers a wider choice of good-quality, stylish, pre-loved clothes for men, women and children, as well as an array of attractive homeware and a treasure trove of toys. Open seven days a week, the spacious new store is continuing the trusted retail service St Luke’s has been providing on Plymstock Broadway since the 1980s.
Volunteers are a unique breed. They do what they do out of the generosity in their hearts, giving their time for free to help others. This coming week is Volunteers’ Week (2-8 June), a chance to recognise and shine a light on the wonderful volunteers that shape our services. Our volunteers come from all walks of life, they bring with them passion and a diverse multitude of skills, whether they are working in our shops, at our flagship events or at our specialist unit at Turnchapel.
Highly skilled, kind and present even when situations are heartbreaking or difficult, our nurses are a special breed. We appreciate them every day, and this International Nurses Day (12 May), we want to say an extra-big thank you to them for everything they do in, and for, our community.
We spoke to St Luke’s Community Nurse Specialist Sonja Hambly about her role and what motivates her to work in an environment many would shy away from, perhaps perceiving it as too tough on their emotions.
