St Benedict's Hospice and Centre for Specialist Palliative Care offers palliative care services to the people of Sunderland and surrounding districts. Palliative care is the care that is given to people when any illness is no longer curable by treatment, though the person may not be near to death. Palliative care offers an holistic approach to care to patients and their families to enable a good quality of life over the full duration of the illness. St Benedict's Hospice is an NHS managed hospice through South Tyneside Foundation Trust and is supported by St Benedict's Hospice Charity which funds many different services, equipments and items that directly benefit and enhance the care and support given to patients and their families during and after their involvement with the hospice services.