A social worker, a nurse, and a doctor, she is widely regarded as the founder of the modern hospice movement.
Just over 50 years ago hospice care as we know it today began its transformation.
Previously, people with a terminal diagnosis were seen as medical failures by many – if they couldn’t be cured then there was nothing left that medicine or medical professionals could do for them – and many, unfortunately, were in pain and uncomfortable in their last weeks and days because of this. Her change of approach brought dignity and proper pain relief to palliative care.
At The Myton Hospices we would like to think that Cicely would be incredibly proud of how far the hospice movement has come, thanks to her hard work in trying to give terminally ill people a dignified and comfortable death. There is still more that we want to do at Myton to evolve services and reach more people but we certainly have plenty to celebrate as part of the hospice movement and are immensely proud of how far we’ve come in the last 35+ years!
Our Living Well Project aims to help people living with a life limiting illness to work towards goals which are important to them. Following an initial assessment, our Living Well Team supports patients to work towards their aims over six outpatient sessions. Within our dedicated team there is a Nurse, Physiotherapist, Occupational Therapist, Art Facilitator and Complementary Therapists. The project aims to provide supportive interventions for people who are not traditionally regarded as Hospice patients and may be earlier on in their illness.
We also run a six week Fatigue and Breathlessness programme which aims to manage breathlessness and fatigue levels for those experiencing these symptoms due to a long term condition.
Patients are provided with education on breathlessness, fatigue, medication, nutrition, exercise and relaxation. People currently referred are living with COPD, Heart failure, Emphysema and Lung cancer. Both services are currently available at Coventry Myton Hospice but will soon be rolled out to our other hospices.
We are also embracing modern technology to give patients’ new experiences; patients at Myton will soon be able to use Virtual Reality headsets to explore beaches, parks and more, all from the comfort of an armchair or bed!
This latest piece of tech, in partnership with LOROS, is enabling people who may not be mobile, or cannot access different terrains, to be able to enjoy beautiful views and tranquil countryside and is yet another strand of our holistic approach to psychological support and symptom control.
As we expand our services, and demand for them grows, we need to raise even more money to continue providing them free of charge! This has seen how we fundraise adapt and make the most of the digital age:
Charities, including Myton, are benefitting from the rise of social media over the last decade. Facebook fundraisers are becoming commonplace on peoples’ newsfeeds and we’re sure you will have seen a few people using these to support Myton!
Online shopping is another aspect which we are incredibly lucky to be able to benefit from too! Myton is registered as a charity with Amazon Smile; this is a simple way for you to support your favourite charity every time you shop with Amazon, at no extra cost to you.
When you shop at smile.amazon.co.uk, you’ll find the same low prices and wide selection of products as amazon.co.uk, with the added bonus that Amazon will donate 0.5% of the purchase price to your chosen charity at no extra cost to you!
And of course, our charity shops continue to play a huge part in our fundraising and awareness within our local communities! We have 24 charity shops in Coventry and Warwickshire, four of which have opened in the last year as part of an ongoing expansion of our retail portfolio!
Happy 100th Birthday to Dame Cicely Saunders, we wouldn’t be where we are today without your dedication to the hospice movement!