insideKENT Magazine Issue 55 - October 2016 | Page 146

CHARITY

KENT CHARITY PROFILE:

Heart of Kent Hospice
The Heart of Kent Hospice is an independent charity providing end of
life care for those living within Maidstone, Aylesford, Tonbridge and
Malling and the surrounding villages. This month, insideKENT spoke
to the hospice’s chief executive, Sarah Pugh, about what they do…

What is it that the Heart of Kent Hospice does
exactly, and why is it so important?
At Heart of Kent Hospice we’ve been providing
compassionate care to patients with life-limiting
illnesses and their families for 25 years. We
provide personalised care that enables them to
fulfil their goals and live as full a life as possible,
by helping them to manage their symptoms
through emotional, physical, spiritual and practical
expertise and support.
Our care isn’t just given inside the Hospice
walls, where we have our 10-bed Inpatient Unit,
but in the community too. We care for patients
in their own homes, in nursing homes and at
Maidstone Hospital A&E with our new A&E nurse.
All of our patients and families are also encouraged
to participate in a broad range of social and
therapeutic activities at our Outpatient Centre.
We believe everyone deserves to die
comfortably, with dignity and respect, and in a
place of their choosing. And even more than this,
we help people make their final days precious.
This year alone we have arranged two marriages
at the Hospice.
What makes the charity unique?
We are specialists in supporting and caring for
people with terminal illnesses and their families.
We are the only organisation offering this to the
people of Maidstone, Aylesford, Tonbridge and
Malling, and the surrounding villages.

The need for our expertise is growing as
the local population increases and even more of
us reach age 65 and over. We are at the forefront
of meeting the challenge of helping greater
numbers of people, with increasingly complex
care needs, to receive outstanding end of life
care. We cannot hope to reach everyone by
ourselves, so we’re extending our services by
influencing the quality of care given in the
community by other healthcare professionals. By
providing training to staff in GP surgeries,
hospitals, and in residential and nursing homes
we can reach a far greater number of people.
What is the charity’s history?
25 years ago there was no access to specialist
end of life care, comfort and support for the
people in our catchment area.
All of that changed thanks to the dedication
of our patron Marianna, Viscountess Monckton
of Brenchley and the hard work of the local
community, who together raised £1.3 million to
build Heart of Kent Hospice.
The charity has been caring for people and
their families since we took in our first patient on
28th October 1991.
Since that time we have developed and
expanded our services to respond to the needs
of a changing community. Provision has changed
from the early years of the Hospice, looking after
mostly cancer patients, to the present day when

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we are helping patients with a diverse range of
life-limiting illnesses, including those with dementia.
What are your aims?
Our primary aim is to help even greater numbers
of people, often with multiple and complex care
needs, to live and die comfortably in the place
of their choosing. We’re trying to meet this
challenge by expanding our services and by
sharing our knowledge and expertise with other
local healthcare professionals.
The opening of the Monckton Education
Centre at the Hospice, together with our
Education and Development Team, enable us to
share our expertise more widely. We now organise
a range of courses for healthcare professionals
and carers in Kent, equipping them with the
knowledge and confidence to support people in
the local community at the end of their lives.
How do you raise money, and do you have
any upcoming events that our readers can
join in with?
Over 80% of our fund s are raised from the
generous donations, Gifts in Wills and fundraising
of local people, companies and organisations
such as Lions and Rotary Clubs.
We try to provide a variety of fundraising
events to suit our different supporters and this
month we’re running our annual cycling event,
Cyclo Sportive on 2nd October for those inspired