HRH The Princess Royal visited Dorothy House Hospice Care to celebrate its 40th birthday this week.
Patients, volunteers and staff were presented to Princess Anne as she toured the hospice.
This was the seventh time that the princess had visited the hospice, which has provided outstanding care for 45,000 patients, carers and families since it was established in 1976.
Princess Anne’s first visit was to open the first Dorothy House on Bloomfield Road in Bath on 7 November 1987, and in December 1987 she agreed to become the hospice’s royal visitor. Since then she has opened the Dorothy House centre in Winsley and the Outreach Centre in Trowbridge in September 2012.
During her visit earlier this week, Princess Anne opened Dorothy House’s new 40th anniversary exhibition and film which is open to the public from Wednesday 22 June and will go on tour to 15 venues across Somerset and Wiltshire this summer.
Speaking of the royal visit, John Davies, chief executive at Dorothy House said: “We were honoured to welcome HRH The Princess Royal to Dorothy House to celebrate 40 years of palliative and end of life care. She is a great advocate of the hospice and her visit provides a fantastic opportunity for us to reach out to more people across our 700 square mile region.
“The royal visit also helps us build awareness of the essential support and services we provide to 900 patients per day who are living with a life-limiting illness.
“Our mission is to pioneer care and support for the wellbeing and cohesion of our community, so we may all live well until we die and do so peacefully when the time comes. My thanks to all who make Dorothy House the special place it is.”
HRH Princess Anne with John Davies, CEO at Dorothy House and inpatient at the hospice Martin Palmer.
Tracey Bleakley, chief executive of national hospice care charity, Hospice UK, said: “Celebrating 40 years of providing hospice care is a real milestone. It is incredible to think that over the last four decades Dorothy House Hospice Care has supported more than 45,000 people to receive high quality, compassionate care at the end of life.
“As a leading care provider in the Somerset and Wiltshire region, the hospice is renowned for its pioneering approach in palliative and end of life care. We at Hospice UK extend our congratulations to everyone at Dorothy House Hospice Care and are delighted that HRH The Princess Royal visited the hospice to mark this 40th anniversary.”
Kate Tompkins, chair of trustees for Dorothy House, said: “The new exhibition and film really got to the heart of what Dorothy House does best; the hospice connects patients with each other, through a range of programmes and complementary therapies, also providing vital support for families and carers.
“Their Outreach Centres, Day Patient services and network of hugely popular Dorothy House charity shops make a real difference where and when it matters most.”
Biddy Walcot, a volunteer at the hospice, said: “It was lovely to be involved in such a milestone for the hospice and understand how vital volunteers and supporters are to its survival.”
Dorothy House is the only adult hospice serving 700 sq miles and 550,000 people across Wiltshire and Somerset.
To find out more about Dorothy House Hospice Care, visit: dorothyhouse.org.uk.
Main image: HRH Princess Anne with day patients who are cared for by Dorothy House.
The post The Princess Royal celebrates Dorothy House Hospice Care’s 40th birthday appeared first on The Bath Magazine.