Blythe House Hospicecare and Helen’s Trust staff and volunteers undergo LGBT+ training from Derbyshire LGBT+ to support working towards their Rainbow Partnership Accreditation.

On Monday 20th and Tuesday 21^st May 2024 hospice staff and volunteers from Blythe House Hospicecare and Helen’s Trust had training sessions to help them achieve their goal of receiving their Rainbow Partnership Accreditation. John, from Derbyshire LGBT+, hosted training sessions to educate all staff and volunteers around terminology, hate crimes, the LGBT+ community, and more.

Staff and volunteers were very pleased with John’s training as it helped grow understanding to better support LGBT+. Laura Savile, HR Manager, says ‘It was a pleasure to welcome John into the hospice, the support and training provided was both extremely eye-opening and educational, but heartbreaking to hear the day-to-day struggles people face who are part of the LGBT+ community.

We here at Blythe House Hospicecare and Helen’s Trust find it extremely important that anyone within our local communities feel welcomed in accessing our services and support. Therefore working towards becoming Rainbow Accredited means a great deal to us along with having all staff and volunteers educated in supporting everyone who needs us.

John, from Derbyshire LGBT+ said ‘The hospice staff engaged brilliantly with LGBT+ Awareness training, and they’ve had their own window decals created to highlight their commitment to achieving this. What an amazing, uplifting couple of days’

For more information, support, or advice please contact our HR Manager at Laura.Savile@blythehouse.co.uk.

From the 6^th – 12^th May we celebrate Dying Matters Awareness Week, where Hospice UK has decided upon the theme ‘the way we talk about Dying Matters.’

To support this theme, Blythe House Hospicecare and Helen’s Trust are speaking up about the importance of opening up those difficult conversations about death, dying, and bereavement.

To celebrate Dying Matters Awareness Week Blythe House Hospicecare and Helen’s Trust have some exciting things going on around the Hospice. A team of wonderful volunteers have created an elephant out of chicken wire which will be placed at the hospice to encourage people to talk about the ‘Elephant in the Room.’

The elephant will over time be covered with luggage labels with words, messages or feelings which people within our local community have written around their experience of death, dying, or bereavement. This may be a message to someone they love who had died, how they are feeling themselves if they or someone they know is affected by a life-limiting illness, or more. The aim is to help open up those conversations that many people avoid.

Sarah, Community Engagement Officer at the hospice explains ‘It is extremely important that we try and break the silence when talking about death, dying, or bereavement. This is inevitable for us all, and having those conversations now helps our friends and loved ones around us know our wishes and needs for when we die.

It is important that we think and plan for the future as much as possible, whether it be writing your Will, planning your funeral, or simply telling those around you what you would like.’

 

Footsteps with Grief Walk

Blythe House Hospicecare and Helen’s Trust alongside High Peak CVS are hosting a Footsteps with Grief walk that is set to take place in Pavilion Garden, Buxton on Thursday 9^th May from 10:30am – 11:30am.

The focus of this walk is to allow individuals affected by bereavement to go for an easy level walk and have the opportunity to talk to highly skilled bereavement support teams.

To book a place, please call: 01298 815 388 or email booking@blythehouse.co.uk

 

 

Death café

We warmly invite anyone within our community to join us on Friday 3^rd May for our monthly coffee morning at Blythe House Hospicecare and Helen’s Trust, Eccles Fold, Chapel-en-le-Frith.

This month’s coffee morning, in support of Dying Matters Awareness Week, will offer attendees the chance to discuss their concerns or challenges regarding conversations about death, dying, and bereavement with fellow community members and hospice staff. The ‘Elephant in the Room’ project will also be on display for those interested in contributing to the project.

Or simply pop along to enjoy a coffee and a cake to catch up with friends and support your local hospice, all are invited.

 

Stay connected on our social media channels!

Keep a look out on Blythe House Hospicecare and Helen’s Trust social media channels, as there will be lots of information and support on how to open up those difficult conversations, how to be a good listener when talking to someone around death, and how to get organised before you die.

Death is something that many people choose not to talk about but it is something that will happen to us all, and it’s never too early to start having those conversations about your wishes to help ensure that your care needs are met.

Check out our soaicl media channels:

• Facebook
• Instagram 
• X
• LinkedIn
• Tik Tok 

How to open up those difficult conversations about dying and why it matters💙

Getting organised before you die 💙

For more information, or support and advice call 01298 815 388

Our fundraising gala ball in Buxton is set to celebrate 35 years Blythe House, and tables are now available to book.

We’re hosting our 35th anniversary gala ball on Friday 28th June 2024 at the Pavilion Gardens, with sponsorship for the event generously provided by TF Jackson Portable Buildings of Buxton.

The hospice was founded in memory of Stan Blythe back in 1989 by Reverend Betty Packham. Stan left Betty £1,000 in his Will when he died, after Betty cared for him the comfort of her home.

Betty, who sadly died in 2022, explained previously about Stan: ‘For the last four months of his life, he had a bedroom overlooking the garden, listening to and identifying the birds. Stan had a peaceful death enveloped in the loving care of his many, many friends.

‘Stan left me £1,000 and I knew immediately that I wanted to build a hospice in his name. Blythe House is a fulfilment of that dream – a memorial to a wonderfully warm and brave man.’

Dancing through the decades
The hospice fundraising team is now incredibly excited to be organising a gala ball to celebrate the charity’s milestone occasion.

The event will include a sparkling drinks reception from 7pm, delicious meal, a raffle, live auction with some amazing, exclusive prizes, and live music from popular local band, Purple Cloud of Funk. Tables of ten are available to book, with gold and silver packages available.

Local support stronger than ever
Rachael Gee, our fundraising and events coordinator, is organising the gala ball. She said: ‘We are so incredibly grateful to TF Jackson for sponsoring this special event to celebrate the hospice’s 35th year. Their generous donation means that income from the table sales and fundraising on the night can be spent directly on local patient care.

‘Our sincere thanks also go to the team at the Pavilion Gardens for being so flexible and accommodating; M Markovitz Limited for sponsoring the drink’s reception; to members of High Peak 1 radio station team for being our event hosts free of charge; and to Airstream Photobooth for providing a unique opportunity to capture photos and memories from the evening.

‘It now costs £2million every year to keep hospice services running; that’s just over £5,479 per day. The hospice receives less than 20% of its income from the government and must raise over 80% through fundraising events like this one. Support from local businesses is just staggering and we are indebted to everyone for coming together to help us to host what’s set to be a very special night celebrating 35 years of hospice care. The fact that we’ve made it to this big milestone is a testament to the support and love we receive from the community. We simply could not do it without you!’

Portable building and cabin specialist, TF Jackson is based in Harpur Hill, Buxton. Managing director, Martin Balshaw, said: ‘We are delighted to support Blythe House as it celebrates its milestone anniversary with this very special fundraising event. We’ve been proud to support the hospice for a number of years now with sponsorship and the donation of gifts in kind.

‘For us at TF Jackson we can see the difference that our support is making, and we know that all the money raised at the hospice’s fundraising events is spent so wisely supporting local people and their families. We’re really looking forward to celebrating on the night alongside many other dedicated hospice supporters.’

Book a table before it’s too late
Tables of 10 from £750 are booking quickly so get in touch to secure your table soon. A £900 gold package includes all the evening’s entertainment as well as two bottles of red and white wine, one bottle of fizz, and a company name in the event brochure.

For more information or to book a table, please call Rachael on: 01298 384105 or send Rachael an email.

Our Christmas tree recycling service has raised over £8,000 for local patient care – the highest amount raised in the campaign’s history.

The treecycle initiative, sponsored by Home Instead High Peak, took place on Friday 12th and Saturday 13th January, across the High Peak, Hope Valley and Derbyshire Dales.

More than 550 real Christmas trees were collected from SK17, SK22, SK23, S33, S32 and DE45 postcodes, with support for the 7th year running from S ‘n’ S Trees in New Mills.

Sophie Wheeldon, our senior community fundraiser at the hospice, leads the campaign. She said: ‘I’d like to say a genuine thank you to everyone who was involved in making our treecycle initiative the best it has ever been! The amount of trees registered beat last year’s total by more than 200! There is always a great buzz and camaraderie amongst staff and volunteers, as everyone works together so well to coordinate collections and dropping trees off for chipping.

‘Sincere thanks to Home Instead High Peak for sponsoring the campaign, meaning that every single penny donated can be spent directly on patient care. Also, to Simon and his team at S ‘n’ S Trees for supporting the event once again; without them we simply wouldn’t be able to facilitate the collections.

‘We send our gratitude to our amazing volunteers, as well as colleagues from Cemex UK, NQIS Ltd and Enterprise Buxton, who supported us with tree collections; Buxton and Bakewell Rugby Clubs, The Travellers Rest at Brough, and Markovitz in Tideswell for allowing us to use their car parks or yards for tree tipping and chipping. Also, to 1st Taxal Scouts who leafleted in their local community to raise awareness of the service, as well as Morrison’s in Buxton, Pug and Pudding in Chapel-en-le-Frith, Sett Valley Café in Birch Vale, and Katie’s Diner in Dove Holes, who donated food and hot drinks for our hardworking volunteers.’

Supporting a ‘fantastic’ local charity
Simon Dowell, owner of S ‘n’ S Trees, said: ‘I am so pleased to have been involved in making this year’s treecycle campaign the best yet! I am proud to support the hospice after it has cared for beloved family members and friends in the past; it’s a vital local service and one that we must all support to ensure it’s around for many more people in years to come.’

Paul Vickers, director at Home Instead High Peak, commented: ‘We have been a proud support  er of Blythe House over the last 15 years and delighted to support the valuable work that they do. We are so glad that the treecycle campaign has been so successful; it’s fantastic to see people putting their trees to good use whilst raising valuable funds.’

Steve Garret, 1st Taxal Scouts leader, said: ‘A very important role for the Scouting movement is supporting the local community. There are many deserving causes, but finding activities which can be run safely during an evening meeting is difficult. Leaflet drops in support of such a fantastic local charity is a great way for 1st Taxal to contribute in a meaningful way.’

Will Batterbee, Buxton Rugby Club chairman, commented: ‘I am proud that a community-focused organisation like Buxton Rugby Club can contribute in a small way to helping such a fantastic charity like Blythe House, who do such good, essential work in the local community.’

Supporting community initiatives
All trees have been chipped and donated to local community initiatives including to Alistair Macbeth of Buxton Micro Dairy. He said: ‘We were so grateful to accept the tree chippings which we will be using as a mulch to support new hedges that we are planting this winter. The use of wood chip will help to suppress weeds and grasses that would outcompete the young tree saplings. We would like to take this opportunity to thank you for the donation of this woodchip; it’s great to see these largely discarded trees being used to grow new trees.’

Save the dates in your diary for hospice fundraising initiatives throughout 2024.

Staff and volunteers at Blythe House Hospicecare and Helen’s Trust are deeply saddened that one of the charity’s founders and patrons, Doctor Louise Jordan, has died.

Dr Jordan died peacefully at home on 23rd December 2023, after being diagnosed with primary lateral sclerosis (a rare form of motor neurone disease), in 2021.

The highly respected local general practitioner was instrumental in the founding of Bakewell-based charity, Helen’s Trust back in 2001; established in memory of Helen Lyon from Froggatt, after she died at home following her diagnosis with breast cancer. Dr Jordan led the charity and was chair of trustees until 2020.

The aim of the charity was to enable other patients across rural Derbyshire Dales communities to have the same choices that Helen had done – to be cared for and die in the comfort of their own home.

For a quarter of a century, Dr Jordan treated patients at Baslow Health Centre, where she also starred in The Real Peak Practice, a television show broadcast in 2015 about the day-to-day management of the rural surgery.

In 2020, Helen’s Trust merged with fellow local end of life care charity, Blythe House Hospicecare, in order to extend hospice care to more patients at home across the High Peak, Derbyshire Dales and North East Derbyshire. Following the partnership with Blythe House, Dr Jordan joined the board of trustees and served as deputy chair.

Tim Mourne, chairman of the board of trustees at Blythe House Hospicecare and Helen’s Trust, said: ‘Everyone at the hospice is deeply saddened to hear the news of Louise’s death, and our thoughts are with her husband Rob, all her family, and loved ones at this incredibly sad time. I am comforted to know that Louise died peacefully at home surrounded by her loved ones, with support from the Blythe House and Helen’s Trust Hospice at Home team, just as she wished.

‘Louise was a caring, highly respected and dedicated local GP for many, many years, and her commitment to good end of life care and ensuring her patients had a “good death” was profoundly clear through her professional work, and also her devotion to Helen’s Trust.

‘The charity came a long way since its inception over two decades ago, and our mission remains the same as its founders first intended: to provide free care and support to local patients who wish to spend the remainder of their days in the comfort of their own home, with their loved ones beside them. It’s thanks to Louise and her enthusiasm, devotion, and foresight, that the charity is where it is today. Her legacy will be remembered and carried on for years to come.’

At the hospice’s annual general meeting in November 2022, Dr Jordan was acknowledged for decades of dedicated service, by being made a founding patron of the charity.

Speaking at the AGM back in 2022, Ruth Brown, member of the hospice’s board of trustees and close friend to Dr Jordan, commented: ‘I have known Louise for many years since being an auxiliary nurse at Baslow Medical Centre, to becoming community matron after undertaking my nursing degree.

‘Louise changed the landscape when she came to the surgery – everyone was so excited to have her there. She was dynamic, innovative; she put caring for an ageing population in a rural community on the agenda, and we featured on the television show, The Real Peak Practice.

‘I have learnt so much from her and keep all Louise’s great advice in my “tool box,” from speaking to patients with such respect and compassion, to sharing bad news with patients and their families. I bow to you Louise, and I thank you for everything you have achieved in your long and celebrated career.’

Read about the 2022 hospice AGM.