Elizabeth Purcell
Lewis-Manning Hospice in Poole has responded to a new report by Cancer Research UK that estimates if you were born after 1960 you will have a 50% chance of getting cancer in your lifetime, because that generation is living longer.
The report coincides with Baroness Hodge’s recent comments highlighting that more financial support is needed for hospitals and it is unrealistic to expect community organisation to step up to care for people who are living longer unless there is far more financial support for them.
Speaking on Radio 4’s ‘File on Four ‘on Sunday, Baroness Hodge outlined how hospitals are under extreme pressure and that there is also a real shortage of nurses nationally with hospitals going overseas to recruit.
Although these messages, at first, appear disparate, they all reflect a system under extreme pressure and a growing need to identify creative ways of overcoming the increasing issues.
Elizabeth Purcell, CEO at Lewis-Manning Hospice, said, “The vision for Lewis-Manning (a community hospice) has always been to provide care for patients who are living longer with life-limiting illnesses and the associated symptoms. From diagnosis to end of life care there is more need than ever before to offer support in the community to ensure that patients are not in hospital when they could be offered care differently.”
She added, “Lewis-Manning has developed a number of new services to support patients and their carers (with no extra NHS funding), however we still need financial support to open the last key element – end of life care. Lady Hodge identified the need to support organisations such as Lewis-Manning who are caring for patients in the community.”
www.lewis-manning.co.uk
