THE DUCHESS OF CORNWALL VISITS ROYAL TRINITY HOSPICE
Wednesday 8th December 2021
The Duchess of Cornwall, Patron of Royal Trinity Hospice, will visit the Hospice to switch on the Christmas lights and celebrate their 130th anniversary.
The Duchess of Cornwall will be received by the Rev’d Canon Dr Flora Winfield on arrival.
The Duchess will then proceed inside the Hospice and be introduced to Adrian Williams, Chairman, Samantha Lund, Medical Director and Emily Carter, Chief Executive of Royal Trinity Hospice.
The Duchess will meet members of staff in the reception before entering the inpatient unit where Her Royal Highness will speak with nurses and doctors and privately visit patients and their families.
Her Royal Highness will go on to meet with supporters, staff and people who have had family members cared for by Trinity at a reception in The Mulberry Room.
Lastly, The Duchess will join children from St Mary’s RC Primary School, Clapham singing carols by the tree and The Duchess will switch on the Christmas tree lights, which traditionally marks the start of Trinity’s Christmas appeal.
Royal Trinity Hospice was founded as the National Free Home for the Dying in 1891 following an appeal for funds in The Times.
The hospice became known as Royal Trinity Hospice in 2015 in recognition of the long patronage of the Royal Family. Prior to The Duchess of Cornwall, The Queen Mother had been Trinity’s Royal Patron since she had been The Duchess of York.
Today, a multi-disciplinary team of experts provides free, specialist palliative and end of life care to adults with life-limiting conditions across central and south west London. For their families and loved ones, there is expert support on hand at every step of the way too.
Royal Trinity Hospice cares for around 2,500 patients every year, the majority of whom receive specialist care wherever they call home, which is where most choose to be. The remainder are cared for in the hospice’s 28-bed inpatient unit on the edge of Clapham Common.
The hospice prides itself on providing individualised care suited to each patient’s needs, whether they are cared for as an inpatient or in homes, care homes, nursing homes, homelessness hostels and prisons across their London catchment.
Through expert care and support, Trinity’s team helps patients to remain comfortable, active, independent and well for as long as possible, supporting their emotional, physical, practical and spiritual needs so they can make the best of every moment.
Like all healthcare providers, the past 18 months have affected Royal Trinity Hospice significantly, both in terms of how care is delivered and how it is funded. Prioritising patient and staff safety meant pausing some services and rapidly transforming or increasing capacity in some areas to manage demand.
As an independent charity, the hospice must raise over £9m every year to supplement NHS funding. The closure of the hospice’s charity shops for most of 2020 and the cancellation of fundraising events caused real challenges to funding. Thanks, however, to the phenomenal response of Trinity’s local community to an urgent appeal which ultimately raised over £2.5 million and selected one-off government support, the hospice is now in a position to look ahead to meeting the challenge of the growing demand for its services to look forward in its 130th year.
Royal Trinity Hospice has been marking its milestone 130th anniversary throughout 2021 with a range of fundraising and celebratory events designed to support its post-pandemic recovery and build capacity for the increase in demand for care that is anticipated in the future.
