£65,000 now raised, to Help Us Be There for an additional 140 nights of Hospice at Home care!

Having launched our Help Us Be There campaign to raise £100,000 which will fund 200 additional nights of essential Hospice at Home care in May, our Matron Lorraine Moth was delighted to announce that we are now two thirds of the way there! As of the end of September 2019, over £65,000 has been raised. Each night of holistic care – both for the patient and family members, who are often at breaking point and in great need of emotional and psychological support – costs the charity £472 per patient.  Having raised enough to fund 140 additional nights, our Matron of the Arthur Rank Community Team, Lorraine Moth, thanked the public for their generous support in an in-depth interview on Ronnie Barbour’s Drive time show on BBC Radio Cambridgeshire, on Thursday 3 October.Ronnie’s mother in law was cared for by Lorraine and her team, so he understands in very real terms, the difference that overnight Hospice at Home care makes to the families who need it.  Lorraine explained how the loss of her own Mum when she was 15 years old, made her determined to make a difference for families like hers in the future.Lorraine retires this month, but her time in end of life care has been well spent and “really has made a difference to how I live my life, and how I will live my life”.  If you would like to sit down and take 15 minutes with a cup of tea, you can listen again to her first ever – excellent – radio interview, here: Lorraine has always talked about what a privilege it is to be able to help patients and families who are facing such a difficult time in their life, saying “we only get one chance to get it right”. You can read more about her and her formative role as Matron, who first set up the Hospice at Home team eight years ago HERE.At the end of the interview Ronnie surprised Lorraine by presenting her with a bunch of flowers on behalf of his family, wishing her a very happy retirement.  There is no doubt that Lorraine will be hugely missed by the Hospice and everyone who is part of, and who has benefited from, our care.  However, she has left us with strong foundations and a compassionate and dedicated team of specialists who will continue to deliver end of life care in people’s own homes across Cambridgeshire long into the future. Meanwhile, Team Arthur is working hard to raise the final £35,000 needed by Christmas, with the hope that the public will continue to lend their support by making a one-off donation, committing to a regular donation or by throwing a “Host at Home” event. To find out more about the appeal and how you can support it, visit arhc.org.uk/HelpUsBeThere or call 01223 675888.