Hospice patient, loved ones and supporters deliver 15,500 signatures

Following incredible support from our amazing community, local MPs, supporters and patients visited 10 Downing Street, in London, to deliver a 15,500-signature petition, urging the restoration of our funding and protection of nine palliative care beds.

We first shared the news in September that the Charity had received notice from Cambridge University Hospitals (CUH), which runs Addenbrooke’s Hospital, that the annual £829,000 funding they provide will cease in just six months’ time.

Essentially, this now means that over 200 people a year will no longer have the option of being cared for in the comfort of our Inpatient Unit at the Hospice and instead will sadly be dying in a busy hospital without the level of privacy for lasting memories, nor the expertise and outstanding care provided by our experienced, compassionate palliative care nurses.

We launched our Protect our Care appeal and the dedication and compassion from all our supporters means the world to us and we cannot thank them enough.

As reporter, Gemma Gardner wrote in the Cambridge Independent:

The petition was launched by Pippa Heylings, MP for South Cambridgeshire, Charlotte Cane, MP for Ely and East Cambridgeshire, and Ian Sollom, MP for St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire. Among those joining the MPs and Cheney Payne, the Liberal Democrat Parliamentary candidate for Cambridge, at Downing Street were those who are receiving care or have had loved ones cared for by the hospice.

Lisa 

Lisa Smart’s daughter was diagnosed in 2020 with a rare, aggressive spinal cord tumour and she died in 2021, aged 22. The Hospice provided her daughter with inpatient and home support including pain management, physiotherapy, complementary therapy and counselling.

“The staff at the Hospice gave my daughter peaceful end-of-life care in a supportive environment and for that I am so grateful,” says Lisa, who is an active fundraiser for the Arthur Rank Hospice Charity.

Lisa, who lives in Ms Cane’s constituency, added:

“The Hospice gave emotional and practical support to my daughter and our family. They were very kind and thoughtful – this included arranging special times for us to share, including a Mother’s Day tea.”

Vivien

Vivien Biggs’ husband, Ruston, died at the end of November last year (2024) from a rare type of cancer. He had been transferred to the Hospice for his final nine nights after initially receiving care at home with three visits a day from carers. But his care at home had been hard for Vivien, particularly during the nights, and being in the hospice meant she could go home to sleep knowing he was being cared for.

“The care in the hospice was wonderful – time seems available for real engagement in a way it is not in a hospital,” she explained.

“My whole family – adult daughters and teenage grandsons plus a toddler – were made to feel supported in a way we did not realise was possible.

“For Ruston’s final few nights, I slept at the Hospice and was made to feel very welcome and cared for.”

The petition is also part of the Liberal Democrats’ national campaign calling for urgent government action to protect vital hospice services.

Valerie

Valerie Barrett’s husband, Rob, passed away at Arthur Rank Hospice only three months after being diagnosed with a brain tumour. He was initially in hospital and then supported at home by carers before being moved to the hospice for his final three days.

“I had heard from friends and family about the incredible care and compassion at Arthur Rank Hospice and made plans for Rob to spend his final days there,” explained Val, who lives in South Cambridgeshire.

“The Hospice was peaceful, dignified, and full of kindness, and I cannot speak highly enough of the staff and volunteers who supported me and my family.”

The MPs were also joined by Rick Nelms, who lives close to Cambridge and is currently being cared for by the Charity, as they called on the government to save the hospice beds and ensure long-term funding for its vital services.

Rick

Rick has been looked after by the Charity’s Living Well Service since being diagnosed with Primary Lateral Sclerosis (PLS) in 2017 and was featured in the Charity’s 40 years of caring anniversary booklet.

PLS, which is similar to the more familiar motor neurone disease (MND), is a rare, slowly progressive, painful and disabling motor neuron disease which affects about 100 people in the UK. Rick said:

“The Hospice has looked after our whole family, including our young adult children, since 2017, meeting specific needs as they arise. It has provided care for me and organises face-to-face and online group sessions on areas such as how to live well with a life-limiting condition, as well as gentle exercise, creative activities, complementary therapy and the opportunity to form friendships with people who understand the experiences we face.

“I have spent a significant amount of time in the hospice’s Inpatient Unit visiting friends and it is a lovely place, serene and homely, with privacy and all the medical necessities done discretely, while people can watch the squirrels, the birds and the flowers outside the full-length windows.

Addenbrooke’s Hospital does a magnificent job in what it specialises in, but there is no way to offer that serenity within the already crowded and bustling hospital environment.”

Everyone at the Charity are so grateful and humbled by the community’s support to protect our services and allow our amazing colleagues to continue to provide outstanding care which supports people in Cambridgeshire living with an advanced serious illness or other life-limiting condition and those who need end of life care.

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We thank Lisa, Vivien, Valerie and Rick for taking the time to travel to London and for sharing their personal experiences. If you are able to support the appeal please visit arhc.org.uk/protectourcare or telephone 01223 675777.