Hospice User Groups

Our Hospice User Group members include:

• people who have previously received or currently receive care from Sue Ryder – at home, as an inpatient, or through outpatient or day services
• carers, family members and friends of current or former Sue Ryder patients
• local people with direct or lived experience of hospice care, palliative care, or end-of-life care, whether as a patient, carer or family member.

We welcome people with various experiences and backgrounds, and no special skills or qualifications are needed. You just need to be willing to share your views.

You don’t need to have direct experience of Sue Ryder’s care. We welcome people with different connections to hospice care, whether you have received care yourself, or supported someone as a carer.

Joining a Hospice User Group is a way of improving care for patients, families, and people who may need support in the future. It’s also a way of connecting with others.

Many people tell us they want to give something back after receiving support from Sue Ryder. Other people join their Hospice User Group to make positive change for others, after having a difficult experience themselves.

Joining a Hospice User Group is a way of using your experience – whether positive or negative – to make improvements and support others who may face similar situations in the future.

Hospice User Groups help us to understand the experiences of the people we support and find practical ways to improve our services.

The group may help to:

• share ideas and feedback on hospice services, facilities and environments
• suggest ways to make services easier to understand, access and use
• review patient and family information, such as letters, leaflets or webpages
• help us think about how we support patients, carers and families from different communities and backgrounds
• take part in specific focus groups or surveys around a particular topic
• gather feedback from current service users, using their understanding and own lived experience to advocate for patients and those close to them.

It’s important to us that anyone who wants to get involved can do so, in a way that feels manageable and fits around your life and other commitments.

That might include joining Hospice User Group meetings online rather than in-person. Or maybe you’d prefer to share your experiences in other ways, such as completing a survey or taking part in a short, one-off project.

As Hospice User Groups are led by regional teams, how they operate does vary according to local needs and priorities. For more information, please contact your local Hospice User Group using the details below.