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Celebrity Joe Garrett opens St Christopher’s 24th Charity Shop as Hospice Bucks high Street Trends with Ambitious Retail Expansion

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Saturday 12 September – St Christopher’s hospice has officially opened a new store on Eltham High Street, bringing affordable pre-loved shopping to the local community while generating vital income to support hospice care across south east London.

The new shop forms part of St Christopher’s wider retail strategy, with plans to open at least three additional shops each year over the next three years. This would see the hospice add at least nine new stores to its current network of 24, increasing its retail estate by 37.5%.

The expansion comes at a time when many high street retailers are facing significant challenges, including rising operating costs, changing consumer habits and reduced footfall. While other major charity retailers are shrinking their estates, St Christopher’s is moving firmly in the opposite direction. The British Heart Foundation has announced plans to close 150 of its 640 shops, a reduction of almost a quarter (23%) of its retail estate, while Cancer Research UK has reduced its retail presence by around 22%.

St Christopher’s continued investment reflects its confidence in the power of charity retail to generate sustainable funding for hospice care, meet growing demand for affordable and environmentally conscious shopping, and help revitalise local high streets.

Joe Garratt, Presenter and Love Island Star, said: “I’m delighted to be opening St Christopher’s new Eltham charity shop and helping celebrate such an exciting moment for the hospice. Having grown up in south east London, it’s great to see an organisation investing in local high streets and creating spaces that bring communities together.

“I’ve always loved fashion and sustainable style, so it’s brilliant to see a charity shop offering people the chance to pick up unique pre-loved finds while supporting an incredible cause at the same time.

“What really makes this shop special is the difference it will make. Every item donated, every purchase and every volunteer hour helps St Christopher’s continue providing vital care and support to local people and their families when they need it most. I’m proud to be here to support the opening and encourage everyone to come down, have a look around and get involved.”

Celebrity Joe Garrett inside Eltham charity shop holding clothes at the checkout
  • Celebrity Joe Garrett inside Eltham charity shop holding a trilby style hat over his head, in front of a row of hats
  • Celebrity Joe Garrett browsing in clothing aisles at Eltham charity shop

Top: Celebrity Joe Garrett opens Eltham High Street store. Above: Joe Garrett explores the store.

Dan Moore, Head of Trading at St Christopher’s Hospice, said:  “The opening of our Eltham shop is another exciting milestone in St Christopher’s retail journey. At a time when many retailers are reducing their presence on the high street, we are proud to be investing in local communities and growing our charity shop network.

“Our shops play a vital role in supporting our hospice services, generating essential income that helps fund specialist care and support for people living with life-limiting illnesses, as well as support for families, carers and those facing bereavement. Every purchase, donation and Gift Aid contribution helps make that care possible.

“Charity retail has never been more important. As well as raising sustainable income for hospice care, our shops support local high streets, encourage reuse and sustainable shopping, and create welcoming community spaces where people can connect, volunteer and make a difference.

“We are delighted to become part of the Eltham community and look forward to welcoming local residents through our doors.”

The new Eltham shop offers a wide range of pre-loved fashion, accessories, homeware, books and unique items, providing local residents with affordable and sustainable shopping options while helping to raise funds for hospice care.

Joe Garrett cutting the ribbon in the entrance of Eltham High Street charity shop with hospice banners and people clapping either side of him

Above: Celebrity Joe Garrett cuts the ribbon at Eltham High Street store.

Media statement: St Christopher’s responds to assisted dying vote in Westminster

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Following MPs vote to reject the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill on Friday 11 September, St Christopher’s Hospice – the home of the modern hospice movement – is urging the Government and MPs to ensure high-quality palliative and end of life care is available to everyone who needs it. 

St Christopher’s remains neutral on whether the law should change. However, the debate has underlined a point on which the Prime Minister Andy Burnham and MPs across parties and on both sides of the argument have agreed: people approaching the end of life must have access to properly funded hospice and palliative care. 

Steve Smith, Chief Executive of St Christopher’s, says: 

“Today’s vote does not change the urgent need to improve funding for hospice and palliative care.  

“Whatever the future of the assisted dying debate, everyone approaching the end of life should be able to access high-quality care, wherever they live and regardless of their circumstances. 

“St Christopher’s remains neutral on whether the law should change, but the Government must now follow through on the cross-party recognition of the pressures facing hospices by delivering fair, sustainable and consistent funding before more services are forced to close or cut back.” 

Media statement: Assisted Dying debate must be matched by urgent action on hospice funding

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Ahead of the House of Commons vote on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill on Friday 11 September, St Christopher’s Hospice – the home of the modern hospice movement – is urging the Government and MPs to ensure high-quality palliative and end of life care is available to everyone who needs it. 

St Christopher’s remains neutral on whether the law should change. However, the debate has underlined a point on which the Prime Minister Andy Burnham and MPs across parties and on both sides of the argument have agreed: people approaching the end of life must have access to properly funded hospice and palliative care. 

Steve Smith, Chief Executive of St Christopher’s, says: 

“St Christopher’s is neutral on whether the law should change, but we’re clear that everyone at the end of life should have access to high-quality palliative and end of life care. 

“Right now, hospice funding is not sustainable. Nearly 60% of hospices have made or are considering cuts to frontline services, while demand continues to rise. At St Christopher’s, demand in south London has increased by nearly 50% over the past six years, and our teams completed 13% more home visits in the last year alone. 

“We have protected our services so far, but the pressure for many hospices is immediate. In south London, our communities generously raise tens of millions of pounds each year, but charitable giving cannot substitute for a fair, sustainable national funding settlement. 

“Whatever MPs decide on Assisted Dying, investment in hospices must be treated as an urgent priority in the new modern service framework for palliative care.  

“The Government should fully fund specialist palliative care commissioned by the NHS, provide fair multi-year contracts that rise with costs, establish consistent funding across the country and enable hospices to match NHS pay awards. 

“Politicians must now follow through on their support for hospice and palliative care and deliver fair funding before more services are forced to close or cut back. 

“Whatever happens after the votes are counted, we want to reassure our community that we will continue to be delivering high-quality palliative and end of life care across south London for everyone who needs it.” 

St Christopher’s Hospice Welcomes the Deputy Civic Mayor of Croydon for Official Visit  

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The Deputy Civic Mayor met with the hospice’s Care Director, Amanda Mayo, Director of Inclusion and Social Innovation, Mary Hodgson, and other clinical and community staff as he was shown around the hospice. 

During the visit, the Deputy Civic Mayor heard about St Christopher’s work across Croydon, including its Death Literacy Project facilitated by the Community Action team. The project helps local people feel more confident talking about death, dying and loss, and understand the support available to them and their families.  

Through workshops, Compassionate Chats, hospice awareness sessions and visits to the hospice, Croydon residents can learn more about end-of-life care, ask questions in a safe and supportive space, and find out what help is available for them and their families. 

Amanda Mayo, Care Director of St Christopher’s, says: “It was a pleasure to welcome the Deputy Civic Mayor to St Christopher’s and to showcase the important work our hospice carries out for the community.  

“Community engagement is at the heart of everything we do. Through our work across southeast London, we aim to build strong relationships, raise awareness of the support available and ensure that people from all backgrounds feel informed, included and able to access the care they need. 

“Visits such as this are an important opportunity to highlight the vital role hospices play in supporting patients, families and communities every day.” 

  • Deputy Civic Mayor of Croydon Councillor Scott Roche talks with Amanda Mayo in the arts pavillion while a member of staff in a red tshirt and pink satin bandana watches them
  • Deputy Civic Mayor of Croydon Councillor Scott Roche talks with Amanda Mayo outside the door to Nuffield Ward while a member of staff in a red tshirt and pink satin bandana watches them

The Deputy Civic Mayor also saw firsthand St Christopher’s Inpatient Unit, which recently underwent a £3.6 million upgrade, of which more than £2 million came from the government’s emergency funding for hospices, announced in December 2024. 

The upgrades at St Christopher’s focused on improving the look and feel of the Inpatient Unit, making rooms bigger and more homely, and addressing essential infrastructure issues in a building that is almost 60 years old. 

The work also included enhancing staff areas for dedicated teams and installing a hoist system so people can be moved more safely and comfortably, whilst also protecting staff. 

The Deputy Civic Mayor, said: ” It was a privilege to visit St Christopher’s Hospice and I did not expect to have such a positive and memorable experience. I learnt about the incredible work delivered with kindness and dignity that makes a real difference and significant impact on family, friends and loved ones. The emotional and practical support offered and most notably bereavement support to those left behind was something that St Christopher’s does so well. They ensure that nobody should face these issues alone and the team of employees and volunteers offer compassion and commitment at times when people need it most. The impact of their work makes a difference to individuals, their loved ones and the wider communities here in Croydon.” 

Heart Failure Peer Support Group for Carers

Our heart failure carers group provides a supportive and welcoming space for unpaid carers caring for a person with heart failure. Come along to share, listen, and connect with others who understand the realities of caring for someone with a life limiting illness.  

  • The second Tuesday of every month, 2pm to 3.30pm, St Christophers Caritas House, Orpington, BR6 9XA
  • The fourth Tuesday of every month, 2pm to 3.30pm, St Christophers CARE, Sydenham, SE26 6DZ

Canaries in the health coal mine – moral injury in nursing

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At our January 2026 GPNN Spotlight Event we explored moral injury in nursing. It brought us back to our 2025 session on Trauma-Informed Leadership, where Anna Mahne helped us understand how leadership can protect the wellbeing of nurses.
Moral injury and burnout are not failures – they are signals. When we learn to listen to the canary’s song and lead with trauma-informed awareness, we create safer, more compassionate cultures for nurses and patients alike.

Nurses are the modern-day canaries of health care and our voices have fallen quiet as we quit from moral injury, burnout and compassion fatigue. So why are our voices not asked for, listened to or heard? This is wake up call to all who know the power of palliative care to hold space and honour the stories of our dying.

Trauma informed leadership asks what is a leaders work in the contemporary context of palliative care?

The answer is to know their own inner canary and then to sense the song of other canaries. To lead ourselves to safety when working in deeply dysregulated and often toxic work cultures IS the work of attuned leadership. It senses the underbelly of what is driving the quiet quitting and has the courage to attend to the relational fabric with a radical awareness of sensing the nervous dysregulation we all hold when under stress. This is a collective urgency for deep team work and it starts with the quiet awareness of our own nervous systems.

TIL understands that there is an emotional world of experience rumbling beneath the surface. It understands that when emotional responses are triggered in the work place that each responds according to the extent of their emotional scars, traumas and emotional strengths.

Relationship is everything so self-care through knowing what you need, is a professional priority, not an optional extra. 

Healing teams happens in relationship but first we must feel safe to connect and that is where Polyvagal theory offers clarity and hope. It is the art of anchoring the Self in safety by learning how we become hijacked by our autonomic nervous systems which both creates and witnesses our lived experiences.

When we sense we are outside our window of tolerance to our environment, we move into the fight-flight sympathetic drive. It primes us to seek out threat and hyper focus on this. Too long in a chronic state of hyper vigilance leads to disconnect where the external environment and its actors need to be dulled and contained for psychological safety. This is where nurses of all grades have operated for too long and why our voices are muted.

Yet we can move out of this disconnect and find safety in ourselves and our teams when we are attuned to others and our own nervous systems regulation.

We all hold trauma in us and we work in a culture that is preformative, transactional, and where vulnerability is not safe. We have numbed ourselves to the fear we hold in us and our teams. So how do we give space to feelings and create places of emotional safety where the relational fabric is authentic and nurturing? If leadership is paralysed through its own trauma, it cannot guide. We must reimagine through a trauma informed lens, not a critical accountability mindset.

 ‘Be Curious …What happened to us’ not ‘What’s wrong with us?’ 

This is the question we should be asking ourselves and helping others to do so also . We work in living systems that adopt survival strategies, returning to normal once the threat has passed but when under chronic stress, we lose resilience and move into overwhelm. So with compassion and curiosity we should be asking three simple questions before we react: I wonder why they are reacting that way: I wonder why they are feeling that way: and I wonder why I am feeling this way?

Victor Frankl gave us wisdom with
‘between the stimulus and the response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In that response lies our growth and our freedom’

So my ask of leadership

Dare you be vulnerable first in your team? Can you bring your whole Self to work? What is the quality of your presence ? Do you practice self compassion? Are you known, asked and seen? Where do you feel stuck? Can you recognise your own fear and contraction and who deeply listens? Finally, where does unaddressed trauma sit in your team?

So in caring for our canaries we must listen for their song. Creating space to choose your reactions, and meeting fear with presence and knowing is about honouring and accept our humanity. TIL make self care a priority because trauma is in us all and healing is possible when we are able to be connect in safety to ourselves and others. Trust your nervous system to be your guide and be curious and compassionate when listening for the canary song before it fades too faintly.

Anna Mahne
Registered Nurse and Psychotherapy student
GPPN Champion UK

Find out more about the GPNN

Football fundraiser shines light on grief as only 1 in 6 UK Adults will talk openly about the subject with friends and family

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New research launched today by St Christopher’s Hospice in partnership with Dulwich Football Club shows just 16% of UK adults say they would openly discuss their grief with friends or family. The findings highlight the ongoing stigma around talking about loss, even though most people will experience bereavement in their lifetime.

Two men in football clothes
Geraint and Elis

For Geraint, whose wife Deb died at the age of 43 at St Christopher’s, breaking that silence has become his mission. He is encouraging others to talk more openly about grief whilst raising awareness of the hospice and fundraising in his late wife’s memory.

His story has also led to an unexpected reunion. After hearing about the loss, Geraint’s friend, comedian and broadcaster Elis James, reached out to offer support. The pair have since reconnected and will go head‑to‑head in a 100‑metre race during half‑time at Dulwich Hamlet FC’s home match on Saturday 28 February.

The race aims to spark conversation, bring people together, and shine a light on the importance of talking about grief.

Geraint, said: “It’s because St Christopher’s made an unbelievably difficult time as good as it possibly could be for the whole family that I want not only to raise some serious money, but also to encourage more people, especially middle-aged men, to talk about death and dying.”

Elis James, comedian and broadcaster, said: “Since Geraint’s wife Debs passed away, we have had many conversations about how St Christopher’s helped make her final months as dignified and as comfortable as possible. Geraint has always wanted to turn his grief into something positive, and I couldn’t admire him any more. That said, it’s 100m sprint and he’s a Cardiff City fan, so I won’t be able to show my face in Swansea ever again if I lose.”

Deb died from pancreatic cancer in September 2022 when their three children were 15, 11 and eight.

Geraint had been posting about his experience on social media following her diagnosis and, in the weeks after she died.

Fiona Walkingshaw, Head of Bereavement Services at St Christopher’s says: “Bereavement touches every one of us, yet grief and dying is still surrounded by stigma and misconceptions.

“Hospice care is so much more than managing end of life symptoms but also addressing emotional needs and enhancing quality of life. Our dedicated team work really hard all year round to help not only patients but also their friends and family achieve what matters most to them by enhancing the quality of life.

“Too often people feel isolated or unsure where to turn. At St Christopher’s, our teams work tirelessly to break down those barriers, offering compassionate support and creating safe spaces where individuals and families can talk openly about the changes and losses they are experiencing.”

Following the race, Geraint plans to return to the hospice for the first time since Deb’s death, to present what he hopes will be at least £10,000.

My awareness and response to End of Life

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St Christopher's C Icon White

My awareness and response to End of Life

By Pippa Moss, Senior Education Support Officer, St Christopher’s CARE

Working at St Christopher’s CARE, I support our training at an admin level (I am not clinical). Right now I couldn’t feel more grateful for this role and how it has helped me better cope with these last years. CARE stands for Centre for Awareness and Response to End of Life – it has been helpful to me to write about my response to my Mum’s end of life and I want to raise awareness about dementia journeys.


My wonderful mother died last week aged 76. She’d lived 4 years in a nursing home with Alzheimer’s disease.

Her dementia was very obvious from 7 years ago, she would have been 69 then. She started to get lost going to familiar places and seemed to be ageing fast – suddenly she was someone you felt you needed to grab the arm of to check they got to their seat OK. This wasn’t my Mum. My Mum would be the first to rush over when you entered a room, there with a big smile – a talented networker who so many people have recently told us ‘lit up a room’.

So much memory went so fast – Mum wasn’t living in the past like others might – in recent years she was living in the moment. Her verbal skills got very limited. For a while she could sing along a little to songs, but in the last year hardly any communication. I found it hard not knowing what she was thinking. However, joyfully we could still get a smile and a chuckle.

This last week since her death I have been reflecting on this journey and choices we have had to make along the way.

A woman, smiling next to another woman in bed

We needed help

The day we took Mum to the care home was the hardest day ever – when she could still talk to us but didn’t really know what was going on. We did this because Dad was really struggling and we didn’t want any more episodes of her wandering off, falling down, or facing the indignity of being in a mess or half dressed in the wrong situation. She needed supervision throughout the day and was in a large house. Hazards were everywhere.

Once this hard decision was in motion the momentousness of it hit. The freedom gone of what you can do together, the closeness you can have. I couldn’t just lie next to Mum on a bed for a relax. Instead you are sitting in a residents’ lounge or a functional bedroom on a strange chair. She lost the ability to walk within a year so she was hoisted into a wheelchair every day. I missed the random wanderings. Visits were limited due to Covid. Did the move into care fast-track everything? How will we ever know? We chose the best home we could.

A view of a rounded driveway with a large tree in the middle.
A photo of the care home’s beautiful entrance.

When we sold the family house, we moved Mum to another nursing home nearer to my sister and Dad moved house too. This was a wonderful home and they took pleasure in knowing about who Mum was before the dementia, but in reality they were now seeing such a smaller version of the dynamic woman she once was. They still loved her of course as her warmth and smile broke through everything.

We visited often. A couple of times we did have to convince Dad that bringing her home again was not advisable when he worried he’d done the wrong thing – surely, we told him, we’ll just have all the same problems again and now worse with the lack of mobility.

In terms of decision-making – it’s been these last months when we’ve had to make a lot more, ones I hadn’t even anticipated.

A journal into the unknown

Mum has suddenly started having pain, she is regularly groaning and leaning forward. The doctor has visited – surely she needs to go to hospital for tests and scans? He advised us kindly that invasive testing isn’t in Mum’s best interest. If we find out something that inevitably might need an operation, what will we do? No-one will advise (or even allow) someone with advanced dementia to go through surgery. The distress to them for the quality of life they currently have, just isn’t justifiable. But equally it’s a whole new way to think.

We are used to identifying an illness and treating it, but now for Mum, we are just going to manage it. We are going to use morphine (via a patch and oral) – and you can use morphine for as long as it is needed which I didn’t know. The side effects are also managed and not a concern. I’m not sure this is a decision with options, I don’t argue with the doctor. I don’t push for the scans. We just decide the doctor is right.
I cannot pretend that I am not relieved, that with this unknown ‘thing’, Mum might have an exit from the further long decline ahead of her – I feel awful for even thinking this but I am being honest, thinking of what Mum would be wishing for herself.

So now a painful journey of pain management. The absolute essential thing we need to do for Mum. Trying to get it just right so the breakthrough pain isn’t too bad for too long. There is nothing worse than listening to Mum groaning for more than an hour, hoping the pain relief will kick in, knocking on the nurse’s door to ask if we can have more please. Calling the doctors or the local hospice team to up the prescription. There’s morphine but also a sedative that can help so they are doing both. It seems to depend on the day and time if you have a peaceful visit with Mum or a groaning one when you sometimes just feel powerless to help. We just want more drugs for her – instantly. Everyone is trying very hard to manage it, it’s just a complicated job. It’s clear to me why we hold a conference at St Christopher’s CARE called The Sharp End of Pain Control.

We are at the point where everyone is OK to talk about the fact that Mum is now at the end of life. It feels like the home are pleased that we said it first. We can now talk more openly about the weeks ahead.
From working at St Christopher’s CARE I feel more prepared – this is all the training that I support, in a real-life scenario, and I’m comforted too, knowing I have some of the best palliative nurses at my fingertips if I need advice.

Mum’s sleeping a lot of the time, no longer being taken to the lounge in the wheelchair, and she has mostly stopped eating and drinking. We agree that we are not going to try to keep putting food and drink into her as she’s obviously not interested and swallowing has become problematic.
Nearing the end stage of Mum’s life, all I can hope for is a little chuckle. And I get it on one visit and I treasure it.

We still think we have weeks to go but fortunately a nurse colleague at work, on hearing from me the status of things, says to me we are unlikely looking at weeks but more like days. This certainly shocks me but is so helpful – I share this with the family, shock them too, but it spurs us all into re-prioritising our time.

She’s now not eating or drinking at all and has a syringe driver giving her a constant feed of pain relief. I only know the words ‘syringe driver’ because of work.

Then the vigil starts and Dad reports Mum is sleeping but she’s doing ballet with her arms – they are raised elegantly up to the sky and I watch this on a video call and Google it – ‘terminal agitation’ – quite common at the end of life. Maybe Mum’s arms are so graceful because she did do a lot of ballet when she was younger? Anyway, that is enough to get me on a train from London that evening as it seems a sign that the end is near.

A lovely nurse at the home tells me that it won’t be as quick as I think. Without any additional crisis, someone without food and drink can easily last a week or more. I feel a bit crazy not knowing how long we’ve got and if we can keep Mum pain-free.

The importance of the vigil

I don’t know how I did it on reflection, but I still went away that weekend on a long-planned visit to my daughter at university, leaving my sister and Dad with Mum. I got back Sunday evening and was by her bed again on the Monday. We all were.

I was so pleased to hear Mum had had a blessing and communion from a priest over the weekend and although you wouldn’t have known she was even aware, this was essential – her faith was very important – she was even ordained at 66.

She definitely seemed different to 3 days previously – to be frank she looked like she was dying. She was sleeping even more and with her mouth wide open – this is common. Again I saw the value of the training we offer at work – mouthcare at the end of life – another skill I hadn’t realised is so important.
There are some disturbing noises made by people near the end of life, a little like choking, but the nursing home managed all this very well to make Mum as comfortable as possible. I know from the wonderful Dr Kathryn Mannix video we use at CARE, that this is all very normal. I showed my sister the video to help her too.

They say hearing is the last to go and we chatted to Mum lovingly, but with advanced dementia you sadly don’t know what is being understood. Touch felt more important and I stroked her lovely soft warm hand and her hair. The care home brought us tea and snacks. There were tears, memory-sharing, music and singing, and of course intense watching for the moment ‘it’ might happen. ‘You can let go Mum, we are all here.’

Then the awful decision in the evening about whether to go home – we were shattered. We just all sensed that she wouldn’t see the morning. I noticed her breathing rhythm had changed subtly. It had somehow been an incredibly special day, one I will remember forever, and one I am so grateful I didn’t miss. We had a group hug and said our heart-breaking goodbyes to Mum. I don’t know how we walked out of there but I think we also thought Mum might like some peace now.

The call came at 1am

We all drove back to the care home. We had to make a quick decision about this because the body can be collected very fast…within an hour or two. I caught my breath when I walked into the room. I went over to Mum to kiss her but she was so very gone. I just kept thinking about her recent warm hand, her chest rising and falling, it wasn’t much but it was life. There was no Mum there now.

But this realisation meant we could be practical and took the personal items from the room that we’d want to keep, avoiding a visit to an empty room the next day.

What a strange night. I did call the care home a couple of days after to thank them for everything – the manager shared how much she loved our family and would miss us.

It was what I think you would call a ‘good death’, and as a colleague at work said when I tried to justify us heading home that night – dying is a journey, not just that last breath. We’d all been on the journey with her and she would know that we’d been there with her along the way – for this final goodbye after the very long goodbye.

Reflection time

If you are having your own journey with a loved one with Alzheimer’s, I hope this gives you some insight into how things might go at the end and to know that I understand it’s hard to make certain decisions. We are never going to say we did everything perfectly during these years but it wasn’t for lack of love.
I feel the one and only gift Mum’s dementia has given to me is that with my years of anticipatory grief I am not now hit by a tidal wave of emotions that will bowl me over – instead I feel reflective and relieved. I feel full of love and gratitude for Mum in a very intense way and it’s like a warm blanket. Extra comforting because I can have these feelings without one half of my brain fretting about how she is doing today. Instead I know she’s at peace.

In these weeks since her death we are having the experience of the old Mum being brought back to us in all the tributes and messages. We are brimming with pride for the woman she was and what she meant to everyone.

I feel we’ve been in ‘limboland’ these last years. Years where Mum couldn’t remember anything about her past life or indeed who we were to her. We couldn’t mourn collectively – for her loss of this vital part of human existence of knowing who you are and what you have done in the world. Now instead we can collectively celebrate her full life before the dementia.

An image of an old Kellogs cornflakes advert, featuring Pippa Moss' mother.
Mum’s first acting job

I have thought about this too – you can’t write off the last 4 years. That was part of Mum’s life, you could say a very cruel part. However, although her world got smaller and smaller, I learnt the value of a smile and a chuckle. It’s not much to give others when you used to be an actress entertaining, a business woman encouraging women up the corporate ladder, and later a priest giving comfort and amazing sermons – but if it’s all you can now offer it certainly can make a daughter’s day.

Empowering Nurses, Improving Care: The Impact of HELP’s Development Programme

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A logo with the acronym HELP: Hospice Education Learning Partnership

When one of the participants shares that the education course or programme they’ve just completed has changed their life, it’s probably safe to say it’s been a success.

When two make that claim about St Christopher’s Nurse Development Programme, it looks like it’s well and truly started to fulfil its aim of nurturing and sustaining a thriving workforce of nurses who care for individuals with serious advancing conditions and those who are grieving.

For the programme’s commissioner, Kate Heaps, Chief Executive of Community Hospice and ICB palliative care Clinical Lead, and Leonor Pacheco, who designed and project managed it for St Christopher’s, this positive feedback is gratifying but only one part of the story.

Yes, one of the goals was to empower early career nurses to improve end of life care skills, but they also wanted this cohort of 30, representing all settings, to share their new-found skills and knowledge with colleagues, thus delivering systemic change. Listening to those who’ve just finished the programme, that’s exactly what’s happening.

Tope Idowu, who only qualified in January 2025 and works as a District Nurse for Oxleas NHS Trust, speaks for many of her fellow programme members when she says she was immediately drawn to it, in the hope it would help her overcome her fear of caring for people at the end life.

“Whenever I’ve had a palliative patient, I’ve been terrified thinking what am I going to say, how will I do the assessment and will I be supportive enough for them and their family. So, I didn’t need a second invitation.”

When it came to the content, it was the mix of the theoretical and practical that really struck home for many, as evidenced by Harmit Thaker who graduated in 2013 and, during the course of the programme, was promoted from Band 4 to Band 6 working in geriatrics for Lewisham and Greenwich Trust.

“I have learned so many things – sensitive conversations, communication skills, how to use a syringe driver, symptom management and other practical skills. So many things. It’s totally exceeded my expectations.”

With the assistance of the Hospice Education and Learning Programme (HELP), Leonor recruited colleagues with a wide range of experiences to teach at the sessions. Both Leonor and Kate were also determined to ensure the nurses enjoyed first-hand experience and the week-long placement at either Community Hospice or St Christopher’s had a profound impact on participants – perhaps none more so that Bukola Adedoja who works for Guys and St Thomas’ Trust (GSTT), having qualified three years ago.

“The placement was very interesting, and I really enjoyed it because I was able to do more practical things, not just in the class,” says Bukola.

“I was able to see so much. My mentor gave me lots of knowledge about home visits, bereavement, how to talk to patients and families when someone dies. I had to support a patient with medication and talk to the family. It was a lot, but I enjoyed it so much.”

That’s not to say the ‘classroom’ element of the programme didn’t land well too. Doris Frisby, who started the year as a District Nurse at Oxleas  and finishes it as Practice Development Nurse in End of Life, enthused about the monthly sessions.

“I couldn’t wait for the next module. Every time we came in it was a wealth of knowledge and was so good.”

Likewise, Tope said: “The lecturers were really brilliant with their experience and knowledge that they had to share.”

“I couldn’t wait for the next module. Every time we came in it was a wealth of knowledge and was so good.”

Likewise, Tope said: “The lecturers were really brilliant with their experience and knowledge that they had to share.”

It’s the transformational effect the programme has had that’s really striking.  Words like ‘fortified’, ‘huge’ and ‘grown’ only scratch the surface.

Tope identifies the programme as the source of positive change in her co-workers as well as herself.

“As a result of this course I have been put in charge of my palliative caseload, and we have a very big palliative caseload. It’s a lot of work, but doing this programme means I’ve been able to take on this responsibility. I’m so glad I can do this.

“The programme has fortified me as a nurse and as a person too. I lost my sister during this course and some of the things I have learned have really helped me and my family. It’s empowered me to be less anxious around the end of life. I now feel able to empower colleagues and families too.”

Tendai Mvura, a three-year qualified Staff Nurse in urology at GSTT, recognises the impact the programme has had on her team too, but most of all on herself.

“I have really grown in the last year and am so much more confident. When we have a palliative patient now I know how to care for them with confidence using the information we have gathered here.

“Before this programme I thought I wanted to be an oncology nurse. Now I want to be a palliative Clinical Nurse Specialist. It has changed my life, not just professionally but personally too.”

The ‘platform’ of knowledge and confidence provided by the programme has had an equally profound effect on Doris Frisby.

“It has changed me as a nurse. When I joined, I was a District Nurse and during this time I have been promoted. This course helped me in my interview, has helped my development as a nurse as well as the families I support.”

All of the nurses gained a better understanding of the importance of taking care of themselves too – perhaps best described by Harmit.

He said: “Personally, I am looking after myself better. It can be overwhelming and to look after others the first thing you need is to look after yourself. For me, that means taking breaks, meditation, taking exercise and eating good food. The impact is huge.”

With 12,000 people a year dying in Southeast London, Kate Heaps, while pleased with how the programme has gone for the first cohort, acknowledges that the programme may only be scratching the surface. When you review what she says they’d set out to do, it’s hard to rate the programme as anything but a success though for those who completed it.

“We wanted to create a programme that exposes nurses to palliative care experiences and to give them a flavour of what hospice care looks like. We also wanted to increase their general level of knowledge and confidence so they can then share that with their colleagues to enable positive change in their respective work setting.”

For Leonor the change has been tangible.

“You can really see the difference,” she says. “The stories the nurses now come and tell are positive. They arrive at the sessions and tell us things went really well. You can see how it’s impacted their practice. Our goal is not for them all to move into palliative care but to upskill them because most people don’t die in specialist palliative care.”

There are 30 places available for the 2026 programme and applications are open until Sunday 4 January. Find out more and register here.

1 in 2 UK adults (52%) are feeling the pressure to hide their grief this festive season

Posted on by St Christopher's
  • 1 in 2 UK adults (52%) say they feel pressure to put on a brave face or hide their grief during the festive season
  • Nearly 1 in 5 (19%) UK adults say they don’t want to burden others with their grief
  • More than 1 in 5 (21%) UK adults have heard of a few services but don’t know where to go for support with their grief

New research commissioned by St Christopher’s Hospice reveals that over the festive period, 1 in 2 (52%) UK adults will feel the pressure to put on a brave face or hide their grief. The main reasons cited are a preference to cope on their own (31%), because they don’t want to burden others (19%), feeling uncomfortable talking about their grief (17%), not thinking support would help them (13%) or because they worry support services are too expensive (11%).

This Christmas, St Christopher’s is urging the UK public not to struggle alone. If you are grieving, you can reach out to your GP for support.

St Christopher’s has released 5 practical tips to support people coping with grief:

  • Look after yourself – rest, eat well, and keep active to support your wellbeing.
  • Give yourself permission to grieve – don’t feel pressured about how to do this.
  • Express your feelings – through talking, writing, art, or other creative outlets.
  • Make use of the support available – whether from friends, family or your local community.
  • Get professional help if needed.

Fiona Walkingshaw, Head of Bereavement Services at St Christopher’s says: “Bereavement touches every one of us, yet grief and dying is still surrounded by stigma and misconceptions.

“Hospice care is so much more than managing end of life symptoms but also addressing emotional needs and enhancing quality of life. Our dedicated team work really hard all year round to help not only patients but also their friends and family achieve what matters most to them by enhancing the quality of life.

“Too often people feel isolated or unsure where to turn. At St Christopher’s, our teams work tirelessly to break down those barriers, offering compassionate support and creating safe spaces where individuals and families can talk openly about the changes and losses they are experiencing.

“Throughout the year and specifically over the Christmas period, we encourage everyone to both remember relatives and friends who’ve died and to find ways to share their stories and memories of them. Those people that do this, tell us how they feel better for opening up about their grief and what the person who has died means to them.”

St Christopher’s Hospice, the home of the modern hospice movement, provides specialist bereavement support to help people cope with the emotional impact of losing a loved one. These services offer a safe space to talk, practical guidance, and ongoing support — available in person, online, or by telephone.

  • Adults: Support is available for those who have lost someone cared for by St Christopher’s, as well as residents in some South London communities.
  • Children and Young People: Through the Candle Bereavement Service, St Christopher’s offers tailored support for children and young people, alongside specialist training and advice for schools, parents, and carers supporting them through grief.
  • Bereavement Help Points: Run online or within local communities by trained volunteers, these sessions provide opportunities for people struggling with grief to connect with others who are bereaved and to access compassionate peer support.

Last year alone, St Christopher’s supported over 1100 adults, children, and families across South London through bereavement.

Nina, St Christopher’s service user, said: “After my husband Matthew died, my youngest daughter was getting distressed and anxious and not sleeping well. She was also reticent about opening up and talking to people about it. I wasn’t sure how it would go with the therapist, but Ann is a miracle worker. Seri adores her and they immediately built an amazing rapport.

“They did arts and crafts and talked about her feelings. The difference in just one session was unbelievable. She really enjoyed it because she felt so safe and warm. It’s helped her open up and talk about difficult feelings and emotions. It’s been transformative – and really helped with her anxiety and sleeping. 

“The parent group has been really  helpful for me too. Being with both an expert and other parents at different stages has given me the insight and support to be the parent my kids need.”

To access St Christopher’s Bereavement support go to our Bereavement Support Hub to see a list of services in each area available, practical resources, and benefits information.

To help make the festive season special for patients and their loves ones donate here to St Christopher’s Christmas Appeal and to explore what else is happening at St Christopher’s during the festive period, visit the events page on the website.

Available for interview and images available on demand:

  • Nina, St Christopher’s service user
  • Fiona Walkingshaw, Head of Bereavement Services

For further information, spokespeople or photography please contact:

Charlotte Cohen, PR Manager
0771 142 5260
c.cohen@stchristophers.org.uk