Willowbrook Hospice is an Independent Charity established in 1993 by local people to raise funds to build and run a Specialist Palliative Care Unit. Our Services We currently have 9 inpatient beds and hold weekly outpatient clinics. Although approximately three quarters of our patients have cancer, we treat other life-limiting diseases such as motor neurone disease, end stage heart failure, and lung disease. We work very closely in partnership with the local health care community to improve the quality of life for those people living with their illness. We liaise with the Hospital Specialist Palliative Care Team, the Community Specialist Palliative Care Team and the local Primary Care Teams, including local GPs and district nurses. Although we provide care for patients at the end of their lives, our statistics show that many of our inpatients are discharged back to their preferred place of care, usually home, dispelling the myth that a hospice is just a place where you go to die. Education The Hospice has an important remit in leading and delivering an integrated Palliative Care Education programme to all healthcare professionals across the locality. This ensures that patients are cared for in the best possible way in their preferred place of care, wherever that setting may be. Funding Our care is totally free to patients but is not free to provide. It costs over £5m per year to run the Hospice Organisation. We are part-funded by the NHS, who make a contribution of approximately 26% towards our running costs. This means that we have to rely on donations from our generous supporters and our own fundraising efforts to raise the remaining 74%. This enables us to provide support to patients and their families according to their individual needs.