Hope Springs Eternal (hopehouse.org.uk)

Member Name: merv

Product:	hopehouse.org.uk
Date:	02/02/03 (154 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A very worthy cause, Benefits sick children , Very well run and organised by devoted staff

Disadvantages: Not funded by Government

I get the impression that virtually everyone who works in an office watches the Ricky Gervais sitcom and recognizes many of its characters and scenarios. I know I certainly do, silently nodding in agreement at many of the embarrassing moments. It took some of the people I work with about three episodes to realize that it was a comedy and not really a fly on the wall documentary!

The episode that I found particularly funny and poignant was the one about Red Nose Day when David, the Brentmeister General together with Tim, Gareth, Dawn and their colleagues came up with some toe-curling ways of raising money for charity. It reminded me of some of our own efforts at raising funds, well intentioned if not well thought out or executed. Not quite as hilarious as the duck outfit or Gareth’s hopping but not too far behind in the crass bad taste stakes.

We did have some success last Christmas though, as in common with many workplaces we decided not to send to send Christmas cards but to donate the money to a worthy cause. It was well worth a tenner to get out of buying and writing cards for everyone and the added bonus was that this year it was going to a really worthy cause, our local children’s hospice - Hope House.

Situated in Morda just outside Oswestry in North Shropshire, it serves North and Mid Wales, as well as Cheshire and Shropshire. Like all hospices this essential service relies to a great extent on donations and fund raising. One of the misunderstandings many people have with regard to the funding of children's hospices is the idea that the hospices receive significant help from "Central Government" or the NHS. Perhaps because children's hospices need to employ many highly qualified and experienced nurses, people jump to the conclusion that the salary costs of these vital staff are met from the same source as the local hospital nurses. This is not the case. Despite frequent assurances from various Ministe
rs of Health that children with palliative care needs should receive the same support as adults, children's hospices continue to be neglected by Health Authorities

The campaign to build this particular hospice began in 1990, initiated by the mother of Hope Peachy a severely disabled child who unfortunately died in Acorns hospice Birmingham before reaching her first birthday. At that time parents with a life-limited child living in this largely rural area had to travel to Oxford to secure periods of respite care for their children. Hope’s mother decided that a hospice was needed to serve Shropshire and surrounding areas, including Wales.

Research at that time indicated the total population of the area needing the service was over 2 million and that up to 250 families in the area could be expected to have a child with a life-limiting condition. After three years the initial Appeal, which was incredibly well supported by a wide variety of people living in the catchment area had generated enough funds to build the hospice.

The village of Morda, near Oswestry was selected as it is on the crossroads between England and Wales and geographically near the centre of the catchment area. Construction began in October 1993 and was completed in May 1995. Commissioning the interior of the building and installing specialist equipment took five months, then Nurses and other Care support staff were recruited and trained. Hope House opened for the care of children on October 23rd 1995.

Since opening, over 300 families have been cared for by the hospice. The needs of each family alters as their terminally ill child enters different phases of their condition and in response to the obvious need of some families for support in the home, the service was expanded in 1998 to include home care, where appropriate.

In September 2001 the Hope House Organisation announced its intention to build a new children's hospice specifically to se
rve children living in North Wales. This new facility, to be called "Ty Gobaith yng Nghymru" (Hope House in Wales) is scheduled to open in Summer 2004.

It is the most deserving of causes and one as an office we felt very proud to support and one which I personally will do my best to promote.

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