I am still as passionate about hospice care as I was 40 years ago

Gill Wendelken is the Voluntary Services Manager at Saint Francis Hospice. As the hospice celebrates its 40th birthday this year, Gill looks back at how she became involved with the hospice when it was just an idea and a service local people recognised was desperately needed to care for people with illnesses that couldn’t be cured.  

When I started working for the Community Health Council (CHC) in 1980 I also learned about a local hospice project.  At the time, I was PA to Joan Matthews, Secretary of the CHC and the founding Secretary of the hospice project.  I remember the day Joan was so pleased to see the hospice building plans when the project’s architect Colin Perry, from Roff Marsh & Partners, came to the office and showed us the drawings.  

I found myself volunteering or being volunteered to help the fundraising volunteers and small admin team. Early in 1983 Joan retired and put all her time into the project.  Later that year, when sadly the admin team was in difficulty, I was honoured to accept Joan’s offer to join as an Assistant Administrator and my journey with the hospice really started. 

My empathy and interest in a hospice service stemmed from when, as a child, I saw family members suffering from terminal cancer and being in a great deal of pain until they died.  The hospice was being created at a time when the modern hospice movement was coming into its own, and there was a growing national feeling of there needing to be a particular type of service for people with advanced illnesses. 

How Saint Francis Hospice got its name

However, with no palliative care such as Macmillan or Marie Curie yet in the Havering area and no other operating hospices in Essex either. The hospice Trustees and Friends (volunteer fundraisers) realised the need to start a service as soon as possible, not only to help the community but in order not to lose the incredible local support, which had been so wonderful since 1977. Following a naming competition, the project became known as Saint Francis Hospice.  

It’s important to remember the wonderful work, at this time, being done by our four volunteer Area Family Support Groups, helping many people in various non-clinical ways. 

First people admitted to the hospice

The new patient building, and renovated Hall were completed in January 1984, and we moved into a building with no heating because the plaster needed to dry naturally!  Blankets over knees, and soup at lunchtime saw us through until the warmer weather arrived.  We were a small busy team recruiting staff and additional volunteers, ready for our doors opening on Monday 23rd July 1984 to our first inpatients.  I got married in June 1984 but there was no time for a honeymoon - too much to do!   

Over the years, the various hospice services have been established and grown. My hope was the same as everyone else involved in the hospice - our vision was to give people who had an advanced illness along with their medical care - emotional, social, psychological and/or spiritual care - free of charge.  Being one of the first in the area, our trustees knew we needed to provide a variety of services and care for a wide catchment area; and I enjoyed meeting people who consulted or worked with us, along with those who supported us such as companies, trusts, foundations, lodges, groups, the local health authority, local councils, and our Friends organisation.   

The hospice continues to evolve

No surprise then in those 40 years my job has been a constant change, which has been both challenging and enjoyable.  In the beginning, I didn’t even have a job description!  I was involved in personnel, purchasing, administration, public relations, fundraising, training, security, fire and health and safety, moving and handling, equality and diversity, as well as volunteer management.  Don’t tell anyone but some of the things I introduced are still in use today! As the hospice has evolved over the years, meeting the needs of the local community, has meant I have always found the hospice to be an interesting place to work in. 

Obviously, 40 years has also given me so many memories including, although sad, the fundraisers, volunteers and staff who have received hospice care themselves.  I enjoyed my involvement with our patients, their families, including taking patients’ families around the hospice to alleviate their fears about a service they knew very little about. 

Famous visitors

Also, there are incredible memories such as organising the private visit of His Royal Highness, the Duke of Edinburgh in 1985, helping to organise the visit of television presenter Martyn Lewis to officially open our Day Hospice, and enjoying the visit by former professional boxer Frank Bruno to open our first Education building.  Meeting actor Ian Lavender when together we pushed over a tower of coins, created by a local pub and its customers.  Meeting Ross Kemp in his early days in Eastenders coming to switch on our Christmas tree lights. It is wonderful how famous people have continued to support us, helping to raise our profile with the public.  

Raising awareness 

I also enjoyed giving hundreds of talks in the early days when people knew little about hospices let alone Saint Francis. Organising our London Marathon runners ‘thank you’ evenings and learning of the sponsorship raised. It was a pleasure to run our monthly Luncheon Clubs for our volunteers and fundraisers.  We didn’t have so many shops then but those who came enjoyed listening to our staff talk about their service, enjoyed a ploughman’s lunch and then small groups were shown the hospice facilities - so they could see where all their hard work and effort was going.  Running our volunteer thank you events.  Whether they have been trustees, staff or volunteers, I have had the opportunity of meeting and mixing with so many wonderful people and have been in awe of everything they have done for our services.   

Valuable service

I feel I have been part of something special when thinking how valuable the hospice service has been, and is, to the local community.  What has kept me here for over 40 years, is knowing the importance of specialist and end-of-life care. It is a fact of life that there will be death, so anything that will help a person to have a quality of life will always matter.  All people should be able to live with dignity, with a life that enables, rather than disables.