St Peter & St James Hospice urgently needs donations this Christmas

The hospice, based in North Chailey, offers a range of expert support for adults living with terminal illness, as well as their families, in Haywards Heath, Burgess Hill, Lewes, Uckfield and the surrounding towns and villages.

It launched its Urgent Christmas Appeal last month and has already received an amazing £35,000 in response.

Thanking supporters, head of community nursing Trina Perry has spoken about the challenges faced by the nursing team out in the community, not only this Christmas, but throughout what has been the most difficult year.

She said her team was ‘exhausted’ but added ‘we are nurses; we signed up to care for people, whatever it takes’.

Trina said: “2020 has been a year full of new challenges here at the hospice, and I think we have all learnt that a little bit of care, kindness and companionship really goes a long way, both in life and in death.

“I have been humbled to see how our local community has pulled together, and I am very proud of our whole nursing team for working incredibly hard to keep going, and making sure we can be there for those who need us.

“Sadly, this year, we have seen the condition of many people deteriorate more sharply than it should as a result of Covid-19, meaning there is now more reliance on my team than ever before.

“It is no exaggeration to say that my team is exhausted, but we are nurses; we signed up to care for people, whatever it takes.

“When people are at their most frightened and isolated, especially this year, I know that our continued, personal support is more important than ever.

“We’re ready to continue helping people in our community, but we need our community to continue helping us.

“As a charity, we rely on your generosity to cover over 80 per cent of the hospice’s running costs, and as Christmas approaches, I am reminded of just how vitally important our work in our local community is.

“Thank you so much to everyone who has donated and made sure we can continue caring for the most vulnerable in our local community this Christmas.

“By the beginning of December we’d raised the amazing sum of £35,000 from our local communities.

“If you would like to make a donation today, please visit our Just Giving page www.justgiving.com/campaign/xmas-2020 or head to our website https://stpjhospice.org/support-us/donate.”