Debbie de Boltz: Farleigh Hospice

We welcomed two visitors today, Rob Peters of the Rotary Club of Chelmsford Phoenix, who was on a scatter week, and our speaker, Debbie de Boltz from Farleigh Hospice.

Debbie has been a volunteer with Farleigh for many years. Eight years ago Farleigh supported her partner towards the end of his life and similarly supported her brother, who died just three months ago. They are just two of the many people Farleigh has helped over the years, not only those with life-limiting conditions but their close relatives and carers as well.

During the Covid lockdowns Farleigh formed three area teams, for the north, south and central Chelmsford areas. This worked so well it is being continued. The services available include nursing, counselling, physiotherapy and occupational therapy. Farleigh also has it own consultants and a chaplaincy team.

Helping relatives with bereavement is an important part of Farleigh’s activities. It is particularly important with bereaved children; ideally they should be supported both before and after a death occurs.

In addition Farleigh has reached out to nursing and care homes, helping them understand how to provide end-of-life care. This enables elderly people to receive end-of-life care in the places they have come to regard as home.

The hospice itself is next to Broomfield Hospital. It provides day care and residential care for those reaching the end of their lives. There is a rehabilitation centre and a self-contained flat where families can stay with their loved ones as the end approaches.

Farleigh needs £21,000 a day to meet its costs. Around 48.5% of this comes from government grants. Farleigh has to raise the rest itself, which it does through encouraging regular giving and a variety of fund-raising events, including the annual “Santa Run”. After each Christmas it runs a Christmas tree recycling project, which last year raised some £14,000. The Christmas trees are turned into wood chips and sold to a company which uses them as biomass.

When Debbie had finished speaking one of our members rose to pay tribute to the way Farleigh helped him and his wife when she was struggling with life-limiting conditions last year. At one point she was told that she needed urgent occupational therapy. It would be six months before an NHS occupational therapy appointment but Farleigh provided an occupational therapist within a week. His wife found the occupational therapy a great help. Farleigh supported them both in other ways as well.