As St Leonard’s Hospice celebrates its 40th birthday, two remarkable members of staff recall their last four decades at the care home.
Val Noble and Juliet Lindsey joined the Hospice when it first opened its doors on 11 February 1985, and are now both nurses in the Hospice@Home team.
The hospice has plans to mark the impressive milestone, including a glitzy ball taking place next month.
When the hospice opened, Val Noble was the youngest member of staff on the team and had the pleasure of presenting a bouquet to the Duchess of Kent at the opening ceremony.
Val’s seen many changes during her time at the Hospice, and holds “countless memories”.
She said, “For me a key development has been the Hospice@Home service and I feel privileged to be part of this amazing team.”
Juliet Lindsey, who admitted the first Hospice in-patient, said: “I’ve always loved my work. Over these 40 years, I’ve met incredible patients, worked with amazing colleagues and continued to learn every day.”
Juliet was working in York Hospital when she heard about the hospice opening.
“I cared for many young people with cancer. There wasn’t enough time to spend with those patients and their families, which was heart-breaking.
“That inspired me to join the new Hospice where I could focus on giving patients and families the time and care they needed,” she added.
Big celebrations
St Leonards Hospice will be holding a series of exciting events to mark its 40th year, one of which includes a Ruby Ball on Saturday 15 March.
The occasion promises to be a one-off glittering event at York Racecourse, and aims to raise thousands of pounds for the Hospice.
There will also be two services of celebration taking place at Selby Abbey on Sunday 11 May, and York Minster on Thursday 15 May.
New challenges are set to be launched throughout the anniversary year, such as the Inflatable 5k in September and a trek to Iceland in November.
Alongside the list of events to mark the milestone, St Leonard’s Hospice’s regular events will continue to run.
These include the popular Moonlight Walk in September, the Wolds Walk in June, and the Accumulator Challenge in February.
Chief Executive of St Leonard’s Hospice, Emma Johnson, feels as the Hospice celebrates 40 years, it’s more important now than ever to support this vital community service.
She said: “This is an amazing milestone. Since admitting our first patient 40 years ago we have expanded our services to include Hospice@Home, Carer Support Service and Bereavement Support, caring for thousands of local patients and families.
“I would like to thank our incredible staff and volunteers, the families who have trusted us and our amazing supporters who have always stood by our side. Thank you for being part of our journey.”
The teams vision is that everyone living with a life-limiting illness should have access to the best possible care, and be supported to die well.
It costs £8.7m to keep St Leonard’s running each year, relying heavily on the generosity of the public to provide their services. The NHS funding covers only 25% currently.
Emma added, “As we celebrate our 40th year and recognise these three remarkable members of staff who have been with us throughout our journey, we also urge people to continue to support us, through their generous donations and fundraising.
“We have exciting plans to grow our services further this year to help us reach more people. We want to ensure we are here to continue supporting people living with a life-limiting illness in York and North Yorkshire for another 40 years.”