World Hospice and Palliative Care Day

Our RBKC team reflects on the ways we can support our specialist palliative care assistants and the local families they assist.

The experience of grief and the need to heal unites humans worldwide. More than six million deaths worldwide during the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in tremendous strain on healthcare systems and unprecedented grief and suffering for health workers and caregivers.

World Hospice and Palliative Care Day (WHPCD) is a unified day of action to celebrate and support hospice and palliative care around the world every second Saturday in October.

As the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea’s leading palliative care provider, we mark WHPCD 2022 by coming together as a team to celebrate our specialist palliative care givers, share our experiences of grief, loss and bereavement, and discuss what more we can do to support our customers and our team members on a professional, practical and emotional level.

Registered Care Manager Clarissa Courtney says: 

"We support our customers on their chosen journey - whether that be at home, in hospital or in hospice. Their choices and wishes are observed to the letter.

We understand the emotional pain and practical pressures of receiving a life-threatening diagnosis. Our Bluebirds provide a continual layer of professional and compassionate support throughout an emotionally and physically exhausting time - this support continues after death.

Even with specialist training and heightened supervisor support, our invaluable palliative specialists will always require an open door and a listening ear which we warmly acknowledge on this World Hospice and Palliative Care Day." 

According to the Global Atlas of Palliative Care, over 56.8 million people are estimated to require palliative care every year including 31.1 million prior to and 25.7 million near the end of life. The majority (67%) are adults over 50 years old requiring palliative care prior to their last year of life.