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Jersey Hospice Care were one of three charities to receive a generous legacy of £6.6 million from an anonymous donor.
The charity says the legacy will help them continue to provide specialist palliative care services to anyone with a life limiting condition and to ensure high standard of care and support.
The Hospice said: "It is extremely rare for any charity to receive a legacy of this size and we are very grateful to the benefactor.
"Legacies are a very powerful way in which benefactors can make a difference without it costing a penny during their lifetime. Leaving a legacy is a way of protecting and sustaining the free services we provide for the patients and families of the future. A typical legacy amount is between £1,000 and £10,000, with people occasionally leaving us an interest in property."
Jersey Hospice Care is now caring for more patients than ever and their budgeted costs for 2018 stand at £6.4m. They explained that they have known the legacy was coming for a year, which has allowed them to fund strategic projects. They bought a piece of land near the existing site in the hope to build a specialist palliative care unit for children and young people in the future.
Pictured: Dr Natalie Kemp is leading Jersey Hospice Care's plans to open its services to children and young people. (Glen Perotte)
The Hospice added: "The money will also enable us to bump up our capital reserve and to make investments that will assist with the ongoing funding of Jersey Hospice Care’s annual expenses. Our expenditure is set to increase as the population rises and as we widen the remit of age groups we can care for, along with the level of complexity of the care provided by the highly specialist palliative team, whether at the hospital, at home or at Hospice.
"We believe that everyone has the right to live well and to die without pain, with dignity and in a place of their choosing. Through the delivery of our services and our island-wide End of Life leadership and education role, we have been able to raise the standard of palliative care delivered by all healthcare providers in Jersey. We have seen a significant increase in the number of patients receiving care at Hospice and/or in a place of their choosing."
Pictured: Since 2014, Jersey Hospice Care has been opening its doors to patients with any life limiting condition, not just cancer.
Records show that in recent years there has been a marked decrease in the number of deaths at Jersey General Hospital. They fell from 50% to one-in-three with more people dying in a place of their choosing: there has been a rise of some 20% in the number of people who die at Hospice and a similar rise in the number of deaths the charity has supported in home settings.
The decision in 2014 to open the doors to patients with any life limiting condition, not just cancer, also had a huge impact on the number of patients who can access Hospice's services. Over 53% of patients now have a non-cancer diagnosis; they may be suffering with heart disease or a serious respiratory condition or for example a severe eating disorder. In the past, those patients would have received care on a ward at the hospital.
Last year, 470 of the patients were cared for at home or in the community and over 1,000 visits were made to patients in the hospital. Throughout the year 360 people received one-to-one or group bereavement and emotional support counselling. Day Hospice had 60 attendees each week, accessing a wide range of services, from clinical and emotional support, to sessions in the gym or with a complementary therapist or even a visit from the volunteer hairdresser.
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