Hospiscare: It's all in the name
Hospiscare, if you think about it, is a strange name for a charity.
It looks like a spelling mistake! If you were naming a new charity today you would pick something different, more dynamic and action focussed.
But 34 years ago, yes that’s how long we’ve been around, it made perfect sense. In fact it was a touch of genius!
Isca is the Roman name for Exeter, so we thought we would bring together the three things we did - Hosp(ice) Isca (Exeter) and Care. What a great name, capturing all the essential elements of the service we were starting. Hospiscare, Exeter’s own local hospice charity
Over the past 34 years the name hasn’t changed but our services have – big time! We started with two community nurses, now we employ 160 people, have a 12 bed ward and day services here at Searle House Hospice, Exeter, as well as day hospices in Tiverton and Honiton.
Hospiscare is not an easy name to explain to people – they quite naturally think we’re a national organisation as most of our fellow hospices are named after local areas, saints or nature.
Yes, we stand alone with a unique name and it’s my job to keep explaining to local people that we are a local charity serving local people! But the longer I work here the more I appreciate what a very special name it really is – Hospiscare means so much to so many people.
Whenever Hospiscare staff and volunteers go we meet people who are so grateful to Hospiscare for the love, care and medical help we’ve given their mum, dad, nan, grandad, grandma, son, daughter, niece, nephew, cousin, neighbour, colleague or friend. It’s a very special name to them.
Last month I met the Sanders family whose 12-year-old daughter wrote the most beautiful poem, entitled Hos-Peace-Care. Josie tells about the care given not just to her Grandad but her whole family and what it meant to them. They were in shock after Grandad was diagnosed with bowel cancer and died here at Searle House six weeks later.
Josie was lost for words so like her Grandad, a master of silly, fun poetry, she turned to poetry to express them. You can read Josie’s poem and story here and celebrate all the wonderful things Hospiscare has achieved.
