A TERMINALLY ill woman has told how the care she receives at an Oxford hospice has made her feel she can live her life better than ever.

Cancer sufferer Julia Kibblewhite, who goes to Sobell House Hospice in Headington, is one of more than 4,000 people cared for by Oxfordshire’s four hospices.

The other three are Helen and Douglas House Children’s Hospice in East Oxford, Katharine House near Banbury and Sue Ryder Hospice, Nettlebed.

To mark National Hospice Care Week this week, we have spoken to some of those patients to get a better idea for how these institutions change the lives of people suffering from terminal illnesses.

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We also turn the spotlight on hospice funding: Oxfordshire’s four hospices between them need to raise 66 per cent of the £15.2m they need to provide their services.

Government funding provides just 34 per cent – £5.1m – of that total, and teams of fundraisers and volunteers must find the other £10.1m every year.

Hospice Care Week, run by the national charity Hospice UK, aims to raise awareness of the work of hospices around the country and boost funding.

And for the first time this year, all four Oxfordshire centres will come together to celebrate the launch of the week at a ceremony today.

Sobell House Hospice, based at Oxford’s Churchill Hospital, is Oxfordshire’s largest, with more than 3,000 patients, and the only one which is NHS-run.

Mrs Kibblewhite has been going there since April, and now looks forward to her weekly visit when she gets to spend the day with other people in her position: people from all walks of life who understand what each other is going through.

The 70-year-old, who lives with her husband in Witney, said: “The building of Sobell House reflects the ethos of the place: there is a chapel in the middle, wards on one side and day services on the other, all surrounded by gardens, so you’re in this lovely creative and holistic environment.

“Then you have this light shining on the main pathway through the middle which makes such a difference.

“We have a living room area with settees and a piano and we all sit around and chat, I find it really interesting and helpful to listen to other people’s stories.

“The drinks trolley comes around and you can have anything from a lemonade to a brandy – we can have a laugh, we’re not a serious bunch.”

Mrs Kibblewhite sees a nurse each week who helps her manage her medication, and who will also speak to her Witney GP on her behalf to arrange prescriptions.

But she said: “It’s so different from a clinic, where you get results of scans and it’s all very factual: at Sobell they have got time to see you as a person and that is really very helpful; you’re seen on a spiritual level, a psychological level and a human level.”

When a patient in the hospice’s day service passes away, Mrs Kibblewhite said all the other patients will gather in the chapel, light a candle and share their memories.

She added: “I feel like I can live the rest of my life in a better way than ever.”

Dr Mary Miller, clinical lead at Sobell House described hospice week as “hugely” important.

She said: “It is important for the public to understand what hospices do and the impact that their work has on the community that they serve.

“Hospice Care Week is our chance to do that in a concentrated way and to help dispel some of the myths that are associated with hospices.”

  • Every day this week we’ll be focusing on a different aspect of our hospices. To share your experiences give us a call on 01865 425405.