OXFORD East MP Andrew Smith has pledged his support to our campaign and the expansion of the vital care at the hospice.

His wife Val, former Blackbird Leys councillor and Lord Mayor, spent time at Sobell before she died in May following a long battle with cancer.

He tells us why it’s so important we all do our bit to support Sobell House

Bringing together as it does the best of NHS provision, charitable support and volunteering, Sobell House has long provided a beacon of hope and help for people coming to the end of their life, and for their family and friends.

As it launched its celebration of 40 years of caring for people who have a terminal illness back in January Sobell House also unveiled its ambitious plan to ensure that, over the next 40 years, more people across Oxfordshire have access to good end of life care.

Driving the Charity’s strategy is the vision for everyone to be cared for with compassion and dignity as they approach the end of their life, whether they are at home, a patient in one of the OUH Foundation Trust Hospitals or in the care of Sobell House.

Like many other local people I have cause to be very grateful to the staff and volunteers at Sobell House for the excellent end-of-life care they provided for Val, as they do for all patients and their families. At what is an impossibly difficult time, the sensitivity, support and expertise they bring to this care is nothing short of remarkable.

Oxford Mail:

Andrew Smith's wife Val (pictured here) passed away last May after a battle with cancer

Nothing can take away the agony of the passing of someone you love so much, but at least at Sobell House you have the reassurance that everything possible is being done to make sure the patient has dignity, care and pain relief. That remarkable care extends to families and friends who are able to share last times together and to say goodbye in calm and peace.

I have seen at first hand on other visits the value of the work with outpatients, enabling people to make the most of their lives at home whilst receiving palliative care and support.

The new Sobell House plan is aiming to make a real impact in extending this work, reaching people where the need is greatest and taking the expertise that the organisation has developed over the past 40 years out to the hospitals and in the community.

The Headington-based hospice space is also being reconfigured to meet the changing needs of the people it cares for.  The new Sobell Clinic and Garden Annex will be built on the existing site to offer specialist end of life care to those who are particularly vulnerable and frail and to provide essential care to outpatients so that they can remain at home for longer.  A new family suite will be created on the existing ward with facilities for partners, children and relatives to stay overnight or for extended periods of time as required. 

These very worthwhile and much needed developments will cost a total of £9 million over 4 years. Sobell House Charity already had £5 million in place, which it received from the community mainly in the form of legacies.

A fundraising campaign to raise the remaining £4 million was launched in January and the support of local people and businesses like the Oxford Mail really is making a difference.

This is a project that will potentially benefit us all. Sobell House is working to play its unique part in creating a better Oxfordshire, where people are enabled to die with dignity and where those who are bereaved are helped to cope with their loss. It deserves every support.

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