Hospice experience 'not what people expect'

A woman who attends a hospice says the experience is not what people might expect, describing it as a welcoming place where she has made friends and receives support.

Lakelands Hospice in Corby, Northamptonshire, provides palliative and end-of-life care for people in the town and surrounding villages. It relies entirely on donations and fundraising to meet its running costs of £550,000 a year.

The hospice is marking its 25th anniversary in 2026, after opening on 26 July 2001.

Anne, who has been a patient for six years, said: "[Visitors say] 'I thought you sat around quiet, miserable and hooked up to drips', but we're not. This hospice is not what people expect it to be."

Staff at the hospice can help with medical concerns, arrange blood tests for patients, and contact doctors or hospital staff when needed.

But Anne said the social side of attending the hospice is "paramount", giving patients the chance to spend time with people who understand what they are going through.

"We've got some very good friendships, and we have a WhatsApp group where we all send messages all week.

"It keeps us interested, it keeps us motivated and makes you want to come and get the fun out of it," she added.

As part of its anniversary plans, Lakelands is expanding its services through a new Living Well programme, in partnership with Cransley Hospice.

The programme includes specific activities for people with COPD and heart failure.

It also offers gardening, reflexology, mindfulness, yoga and therapeutic art.

Victoria Grey, interim operations director at Lakelands, said: "The Living Well programme expands upon the current delivery.

"We're expanding that by offering things like gardening activities, a wellness programme through our Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and heart failure courses, reflexology, mindfulness and yoga, as well as therapeutic art."

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