News and blog

All of the latest news and blogs from Sue Ryder, where you'll find healthcare, fundraising, policy and volunteering stories from across the charity.

For journalist or media enquiries, please contact our press office.

“I have lots of lovely memories with patients - them making me laugh and me making them laugh in return”

For International Nurses Day on 12 May, we're sharing Nursing Assistant Carole's story, who is celebrating 25 years of dedicated service at Thorpe Hall Hospice. We hope her experience inspires others to take up a nursing career in palliative care with us.

“There are so many elements of my job that I love.” Fern, Sue Ryder Thorpe Hall Hospice's Inpatient Unit Manager

After a variety of other nursing environments and more than a decade on from her first placement at Sue Ryder Thorpe Hall Hospice, Fern is now their IPU Manager. She describes her nursing and managerial responsibilities, as well as the challenges and joys of working in palliative care.

“I started at Thorpe Hall in March and obviously things have been very different to how they would normally be.” Caroline, Sue Ryder Nurse

Arriving at Sue Ryder Thorpe Hall Hospice in March 2020, Caroline has had a long and varied career in nursing and brings a wealth of experience to Sue Ryder. But nothing could have prepared her for the impact Covid-19 would have on our healthcare system.

Year of the Nurse: Meet Sue Ryder St John’s Hospice's new Ward Manager Jacqui

For Year of the Nurse, where we celebrate the important work of our Sue Ryder Nurses, we begin by talking with Jacqui Ackroyd, who has been appointed St John's Hospice's new Developmental Ward Manager. “I am honoured to be a nurse and I am proud to work at Sue Ryder St John’s Hospice.”

“My husband’s wish was to die at home. He wanted to be surrounded by his own things with his family and friends around him.”

Penny Jarvis’s husband Colin died in 2009, five years after he was first diagnosed with a rare degenerative brain disease. Penny was Colin’s main carer and he was able to die in his own home according to his wishes. Ten years on and Penny, a Nursing Assistant, now works as part of the Hospice at Home team at Sue Ryder South Oxfordshire Palliative Care Hub.

“The hospice is close to my heart so I am swimming to raise money for families needing our care."

Later this summer, Susan Shackleton is swapping her Sue Ryder Nurse’s uniform for a wet suit and googles to raise funds for the patients she helps care for at Thorpe Hall Hospice.

"The care and help we received were beyond words."

Michael Durkin, 69, was supported by our Sue Ryder Thorpe Hall Hospice at Home team to care for both his mother, Kathleen, and his brother, Tom, at the end of their lives, keeping them at home.

“We go in and we let families be families again.”

“We bring hospice care into people’s homes – and it’s a true privilege.” Emma Wright of Sue Ryder Leckhampton Court Hospice’s Hospice at Home team gives us an insight into what her job involves as part of our summer appeal.

Sue Ryder Thorpe Hall staff will make waves to raise funds for families needing our care

Big-hearted staff at Sue Ryder Thorpe Hall Hospice are taking to the water on Saturday 8th June to compete in the Peterborough Dragon Boat Festival, for which the hospice is charity partner.

Could you help families at the most difficult time of their lives as a Sue Ryder Nurse?

That’s the question being asked by our Sue Ryder Thorpe Hall Hospice this International Nurses Day as we launch a recruitment drive to help deliver more care to more people in Peterborough.