Tag: hospices

Bishop of St Albans asks about funding for charitable hospices facing loss of income due to Covid-19

On 15th December 2020 the Bishop of St Albans received a written answer to two questions on hospice funding:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to provide funding to charitable hospice care providers who have lost community funding during the COVID-19 pandemic. [HL10989]
The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to provide funding to Rennie Grove Hospice Care to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. [HL10991]

Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks about funding for charitable hospices facing loss of income due to Covid-19”

Bishop of St Albans asks about coronavirus impact on hospice funding

On 2nd December the Bishop of St Albans received a written answer to a question on hospice funding and coronavirus:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on charitable hospice care providers. [HL10540]
The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have put in place to financially support charitable hospice care providers; and what assessment they have made of the impact of visiting restrictions in hospitals on the level of demand experienced by such providers. [HL10541]

Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks about coronavirus impact on hospice funding”

Bishop of Newcastle asks Government about safety of staff running care homes, sheltered accommodation and hospices

In a House of Lords virtual sitting on 22nd April 2020 Baroness Wheeler asked the Government “what assessment they have made of the analysis by Care England which suggests that there have been significantly more deaths caused by Covid-19 in care homes than have been reported.” The Bishop of Newcastle, Rt Revd Christine Hardman, asked a follow-up question:

The Lord Bishop of Newcastle: My Lords, it is not just care homes facing these very serious challenges; I have learned that it is also hospices and sheltered accommodation, among other places. Managers responsible for those organisations are under enormous pressure trying to ensure safe staffing levels and the safety of their staff. I hope that sufficient PPE will soon be secured and distributed. Although I recognise the enormous challenge and the efforts that are being made towards that, in the immediate context where we do not have that, can the Minister tell us how the Government aim to advise and support those responsible for running our care homes, sheltered accommodation and hospices, who are having to make such difficult decisions now and many of whom feel abandoned and rather lonely in that responsibility?

Continue reading “Bishop of Newcastle asks Government about safety of staff running care homes, sheltered accommodation and hospices”

Bishop of Chichester on care and support for those in the workplace with a terminal illness

On 17th December 2018 Lord Balfe led a debate in the House of Lords on the question, “To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps, if any, they will take to prevent workers being dismissed from their jobs following diagnosis of a terminal illness.” The Bishop of Chichester, Rt Revd Martin Warner, spoke in the debate that followed:

The Lord Bishop of Chichester: My Lords, I greatly welcome this debate, and thank the noble Lord, Lord Balfe, for bring this important matter to our attention. I also welcome the TUC’s support of the courageous work of Jacci Woodcock in highlighting the issue, on the basis of her own experience.

As a trustee of the diocese of Chichester, I share responsibility for employing nearly 100 staff but also for the care of some 400 clergy. These clergy are office-holders, not employees, and many live in accommodation they occupy by virtue of their office. A terminal illness for one of those clergy, as for anybody else, carries the prospect of multiple concerns, but especially for those dependent on them. The loss of income and a home are primary concerns, alongside the personal challenges of failing health and dependence on others—often difficult for those more familiar with caring for others. The potential loss of their home goes right to the heart of the fear of death and the implications for a family—particularly if there are issues such as schooling and the future of children—that a terminal illness brings. When a family is most challenged, networks of social relationships are immensely sensitive. Continue reading “Bishop of Chichester on care and support for those in the workplace with a terminal illness”

Bishop of Southwark asks about increasing funding for Children’s Hospices

southwark-20feb17On 5th September 2017,  Baroness Walmsley asked the Government “how they intend to implement the NICE guideline End of life care for infants, children and young people with life-limiting conditions: planning and management.” The Bishop of Southwark, Rt Revd Christopher Chessun, asked a follow up question:

The Lord Bishop of Southwark: My Lords, as the Minister has already intimated, the key to delivery of end-of-life care to children and young people is the work of our children’s hospices. Given the 22% figure, will Her Majesty’s Government follow the lead of the Scottish Government and agree to work towards funding 50% of children’s hospices’ charitable costs, to the benefit of the patients concerned, rather than allow the proportion to decrease? Continue reading “Bishop of Southwark asks about increasing funding for Children’s Hospices”

Bishop of Durham highlights the importance of chaplaincy and a whole person approach to end of life care

durham-230117On 14th March 2017, Baroness Finlay of Llandaff led a short debate on the question of ‘how the Government intends to ensure that Clinical Commissioners respect the undertakings made in Our Commitments to You for End of Life Care: The Government Response to the Review of Choice in End of Life Care’. The Bishop of Durham, the Rt Revd Paul Butler spoke in the debate, paying tribute to the importance of chaplaincy to end of life care.

The Lord Bishop of Durham My Lords:

“The medical side of a patient’s health is not always the key to treating them”.

So said a medical student recently, describing what he had learned from a leading end-of-life care specialist at St Benedict’s Hospice and Centre in Sunderland. Another medical student said:

“Palliative care is not just end-of-life care. It is a very holistic approach which supports the patients’ needs very well”. Continue reading “Bishop of Durham highlights the importance of chaplaincy and a whole person approach to end of life care”

Archive speeches: Rowan Williams on Assisted Dying for the Terminally Ill

“what will we be heard to be saying about the worthwhileness of life under certain conditions? Do we, by legally accommodating the mental suffering of some, debase the currency for all? These are not trivial considerations; nor are they parochially religious ones.” – Rowan Williams, 12/5/06

On 12th May 2006 the House of Lords debated a Private Members’ Bill from Lord Joffe: the ‘Assisted Dying for the Terminally Ill Bill’. The then Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, was one of three Lords Spiritual who spoke against, in a debate that lasted over seven hours and featured 90 speakers.

The Bill would have allowed a doctor to prescribe medication upon request from a terminally ill patient with capacity, so that by means of self-administration, that patient could end his or her life.

Following the debate a vote took place on whether to allow the Bill to proceed any further. Peers voted to not allow it to proceed by 148 to 100. 14 Lords Spiritual joined those voting against the Bill.

A transcript of the Archbishop’s speech follows:

The Archbishop of Canterbury: My Lords, opposition to the principle of this Bill iPicture (Metafile) 1s not confined to people of religious conviction—as we have been reminded by the noble, monotheistic and utilitarian Lord, Lord Carlile—and it would be a lazy counter-argument to suggest that such opposition can be written off because it comes only from those committed to a world view not universally shared. It is worth remembering that the secular or “enlightened” view of human autonomy assumed by many of the Bill’s defenders is no less a particular world view rather than a self-evident and universal truth. Continue reading “Archive speeches: Rowan Williams on Assisted Dying for the Terminally Ill”

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