Reflecting on a successful year
Supporting more people than ever before in 2025
We are reflecting on a hugely successful 2025, having supported more people than ever before across North Derbyshire.
During the year, Blythe House received more than 3,200 referrals and cared for 1,703 people*, providing palliative and end of life care to patients and families when they needed it most.
The Hospice at Home service delivered more than 10,000 hours of care to patients in their own homes. The Roaming Car service, which responds to urgent needs such as pain or distressing symptoms, cared for 608 patients, offering expert nursing care alongside reassurance and practical advice for loved ones.
Due to rising demand, the Roaming Car service was expanded. Operating overnight from 8pm to 8am across North Derbyshire, seven days a week, it now also runs 24 hours a day at weekends, when access to other support can be more limited, ensuring patients and families still receive the care they need.
At the hospice in Chapel-en-le-Frith, nurses provided 2,240 appointments, supporting patients and their loved ones with practical advice for the emotional impact of life-limiting illness.
The hospice’s therapy team also had a busy year. Physiotherapy and occupational therapy teams delivered more than 790 appointments, while complementary therapies provided 335 appointments, helping to aid relaxation, comfort and wellbeing.
More than 1,100 counselling and bereavement support appointments were offered to adults, children and young people, providing a safe and supportive space to talk through worries and grief.
Blythe House receives just 28% of its running costs from the NHS, with the remainder raised through donations, events, the hospice’s retail outlets, and gifts in Wills. As a result, seven in every ten patients are cared for thanks to the local community’s generosity.
Two of the hospice’s largest fundraising events were record-breakers in 2025. The Chatsworth 10k and 3k Fun Run welcomed more than 1,100 participants and raised £54,000. December’s Jingle Bell Jog also broke records, with 607 participants and a fundraising total of over £20,754. Local shoppers have continued to wholeheartedly support the hospice’s shops in Bakewell, Buxton, Chapel-en-le-Frith, Matlock, New Mills and Whaley Bridge, as well as the online eBay store.
Shane O’Reilly, Blythe House CEO, said: ‘2025 has been an exceptional year for the hospice. We recognise more patients are choosing to be cared for at home, and we are adapting our services in response to this. A great example is the change to the Roaming Car operating hours.
‘The challenge is achieving this within the difficult circumstances of funding for hospices. Like many of our counterparts, we receive only a small proportion of our funding from the NHS and rely heavily on our local community to support us. I’m pleased that our careful management of donations and services has enabled more people to get the care they need, but we continue to need people’s generous support.
‘A key part of this success is our incredible volunteers, who support every part of the hospice. They contribute so much with their skills, dedication and kindness, and I thank them sincerely for all they do.’
Next year will see us continue to build on the success of our service delivery and introduce new fundraising events including a Great Wall of China trek.
