Trustees giving a cheque to the Trinity Hospice.Care

Trinity Hospice

December 18, 2013By

End of life care for hospice patients

Trinity Hospice supports people through end of life care, with their main aim to help patients ‘live every moment.’ The charity provides both in-patient and home care to people with a range of conditions, from cancer to neurological illnesses, as well as respite and education services to their families.

The Hospice is majority funded by charitable donations, such as the £5,250 from the Axis Foundation which was used to purchase 10 pressure relieving mattress for the in-patient centre.

 “Providing care for members of our community is at the heart of the Axis Foundation’s objectives. We see Trinity’s specialist services as vital to improving the quality of life for sufferers and helping them through the medical choices and stages for their illness”-  Mick Hayes, Axis Foundation Trustee

“Many patients are admitted to us in the later stages of their condition and are confined to bed with limited mobility. The mattresses specially designed to support end of life care are an essential piece of equipment, able to prevent painful and uncomfortable symptoms, they minimise the risk of pressure build-ups and create a massaging effect that promotes sleeping patterns. The purchase of 10 new mattresses will benefit hundreds of patients over the coming years” – Zahra Khan, Trinity Hospice

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Carer with elderly patient at St Josephs hospiceCare

St Joseph’s Hospice

November 8, 2013By

Specialist machine for Lymphoedema sufferers

£4,000 from the Axis Foundation purchased east London’s St Joseph’s Hospice a Flowtron Hydroven 12. This is a specialist machine for Lymphoedema sufferers to relieve the pain and swelling that are common with this condition.

“Receiving funding from the Axis Foundation is brilliant news and our patients will definitely benefit from this donation. Lymphoedema can be extremely disfiguring and health services are specialist and scarce so very often people miss out on getting treatment that can help. The Hydroven 12 machine will offer treatment to those people that would otherwise not be able to access or tolerate other lymphoedema treatments. It will enable people to have treatment in their own home and continue to work and live a normal life, which is vital to people who have a life-limiting condition. We are extremely grateful to all those involved” – Kim Barlow, Specialist Palliative Physiotherapist and Lymphoedema Practitioner

What is Lymphoedema?

Lymphoedema is a long-term (chronic) condition that causes swelling in the body’s tissues. It can affect any part of the body, but usually develops in the arms or legs. It develops when the lymphatic system doesn’t work properly.

How The Flowtron Hydroven 12 works

The Flowtron Hydroven 12 machine has an arm and leg sleeve, which inflates and deflates to massage the lymph channels and glands, encouraging drainage of fluid out of an enlarged limb. The machine mimics the practitioner’s lymphatic drainage hand massage technique

Benefits for sufferers

  • Flowtron Hydroven 12 sessions are shorter than those with a clinical practitioner
  • Sufferers can experience a beneficial 10- -day course of treatment at home without having to take time off work/interrupt their lives

 

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Exterior shot of St Clare Hospice with signCare

St Clare Hospice

October 12, 2013By

Helping Hospice patients with pain relief

The Axis Foundation has donated £3,405 to St Clare Hospice in Essex to purchase two McKinley T34 Syringe Drivers. These important specialist pieces of clinical equipment provide Hospice patients with pain relief at home. And, with greater control over their own pain management, patients requires less intervention from a nurse so they can lead more independent lives.

St Clare’s Director of Patient Care, Louise Cameron, explains how they work: “The Syringe Driver is a small battery-powered pump that delivers medication from a syringe through a soft plastic tube placed under the skin. These small pumps provide continuous prescribed doses of medication to alleviate symptoms such as pain and nausea, sickness and fitting. Syringe drivers also ensure that patients do not have to undergo repeated painful injections or take medicine when they have trouble swallowing.”

Louise added her thanks: “Syringe drivers are crucial for our patient care services. We are grateful to the Axis Foundation for enabling the Hospice to buy these vital pieces of clinical equipment.”

More About St Clare Hospice

St Clare Hospice provides specialist care for people living with life-limiting illnesses in the west Essex and east Hertfordshire border area. The charity cares for patients and their families, providing physical, social, psychological and spiritual support. St Clare Hospice’s annual running costs total £2.8m, 70 per cent of which comes from voluntary income.

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Woman carer standing next to elderly man and child at St Johns HospiceCare

St John’s Hospice

August 20, 2013By

New chairs support patients with limited mobility

St John’s Hospice provides specialist palliative care services to over 2,000 people each year suffering from life-limiting illnesses or long-term conditions. The Axis Foundation donated £4,470 to the hospice, buying three patient chairs to help patients to sit and stand, as well as aiding nurses with bed transfers and hoisting.

Before we made our donation, the chairs at the hospice were low in number and of poor quality. Our new chairs will facilitate simple tasks such as sitting and standing. They also provide extra support for those who are unable to maintain their body posture. The chairs provide more than just physical support to patients with limited mobility; it helps them to build up their confidence, self-esteem and independence again.

 ‘I was delighted to hear the wonderful news of support from the Axis Foundation. I cannot thank the Foundation enough for this generous grant of £4,470 for new specialist patient chairs for use on our Inpatient Unit. Upgrading patient seating will allow us to meet the increasingly specialised needs of patients and maintain our high standards of care.’ Steve Barnes, Hospice Director

Previous Support from the Axis Foundation

In 2014, the Axis Foundation donated £2,000 to the hospice. This enabled them to purchase specialist laser equipment that helps patients with limited mobility due to painful swelling and heaviness in their limbs. The laser reduces patients’ pain and discomfort through its ability to soften tissue and reduce limb swelling.  It can also improve scar tissue (post mastectomy), increase the time it takes to heal wounds and boosts the immune system. The laser specifically helps those suffering from upper and lower limb Lymphoedema. Without adequate treatment, lymphoedema can have major effects, including long-term disability, difficulties with work and emotional problems.

“We are very grateful for voluntary grants and donations like this from The Axis Foundation which enables us to provide a much-loved service to vulnerable people with life-limiting illnesses” – Laura Marazzi, Trust Fundraising Manager

More About St John’s Hospice

The hospice, based in Central London, is the largest palliative care provider in Westminster and cares for people suffering from cancer, HIV, motor neurone disease and other terminal illnesses. People in their care need support with a wide range of symptoms including acute pain, severe mobility problems, anxiety, breathlessness and weight loss. This includes patients with advanced neurological conditions such as Motor Neurone Disease, Multiple Sclerosis and brain tumours.

A Message from St John’s Hospice on our 10th Birthday

For our 10th Birthday, St John’s Hospice had a message of thanks for the Axis family:

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Two silver Bears on a ribbon at Surrey SandsCare

Surrey Sands

April 12, 2013By

Core support services for grieving families

Surrey SANDS is a self-funded organisation that provides support for anyone grieving the death of a baby. The management committee and befrienders are all volunteers and have all experienced the death of a baby. They know exactly what impact this has on a family.

Our donation of £500 will help the charity to deliver support for grieving families. The donation ensures that the staff of Surrey SANDS have sufficient facilities to continue services such as their helpline, newsletters and booklets, memorial events, support meetings and more.

Surrey SANDS chairlady, Kate Price said: “Naturally, everything we work towards comes at a cost. As a charity we don’t aim to make a profit and all our income is used for the benefit of our members. The majority of our income is generated from our service beneficiaries, their families and friends, so we really appreciate Axis’ donation and are immensely grateful.”

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Multiple Sclerosis Trust logoCare

King’s College MS Trust

May 9, 2012By

Providing multiple sclerosis support

The Kings College Hospital Multiple Sclerosis charity is dedicated in providing multiple sclerosis support. With over 100,000 people living with MS in the UK it’s crucial charities like this exist.

The charity provides suffers with vital support with specialist nurses and doctors trained to help sufferers live as active a lifestyle as possible. Through the charity, they also access to all the professional advice and information that will help them make the right choices for them.

The MS Trust is the definitive source of information for people affected by MS and is the primary provider of education for MS health care professionals.
The Axis Foundation donated a grand sum of £17,000 to the charity through matching the funds raised at an Axis charity disco and from the generous donations of Axis employees. The funding will contribute to palliative care for people with advanced MS.

“MS is a cruel and unpredictable disease,” explained Axis’ Claire Richardson, who knows first-hand the effects of the disease. “The research into better management of MS and support for people affected by the disease makes a real difference to the lives of those living with it.”

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