South London hospice St Christopher’s is appealing for local people with a keen eye to offer photographs for patient’s rooms to make them feel welcoming and restful.
The appeal is open for anyone from Lambeth, Southwark, Bromley, Croydon and Lewisham and closes at 5pm on Tuesday 24 June.
Photos should be taken in the local community, with themes exploring nature, places and people. A selection will be hung in patients’ rooms, so they should inspire feelings of calm and restfulness.
The person submitting the photo must own the copyright to the image and must have consent from anyone shown in it.
A panel of patients, volunteers and staff at St Christopher’s will look at all entries and choose those to be installed.
To submit a photo, visit: www.stchristophers.org.uk/photoappeal
The appeal is part of a wider refurbishment of the wards in the Sydenham hospice.
Most of the people St Christopher’s supports are living in their own homes and in the community. However some people with complex needs want and need to stay at the hospice, so the upgrades are being managed to ensure that as many beds as possible remain availablee.
“St Christopher’s is all about community, so we thought it was only right to involve South Londoners with our ward upgrades,” said Julie O’Neil, ward manager at the hospice.
“We want our rooms to feel almost like a home away from home and a place for the whole family to spend time. Warm, eye-catching photos of local landmarks can help to create that atmosphere.”
St Christopher’s Hospice was founded by Dame Cicely Saunders, who started the global hospice movement with its opening in 1967.
The charity provides care and services free of charge. It is partially funded by the NHS, but the majority of its running costs are met by public donations. Each year, it raises nore than £16m.
“Our vision is of a world in which all dying people and those close to them have access to equitable care and support, whenever and wherever they need it,” it says.
“Our goal is to help people live well until they die, and support those affected by the loss of a friend or relative.”
St Christopher’s usually has more than 1,800 people under its care at any one time. Last year it provided care and support to over 4,200 patients and 1,717 carers at home, in the community and in the hospice.
This included supporting 466 children through its Candle Child bereavement service last year and running 5,243 in-person or face-to-face adult bereavement sessions.
You can support the hospice by donating, volunteering or shopping at one of its 24 local high street shops.
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