The Hospice of St Francis

The Hospice of St Francis We help 2,000 local people and their families to live their precious lives well.

"It’s a lovely place to work. Though there can be challenging moments sometimes, we're a great team, and all very suppor...
26/11/2025

"It’s a lovely place to work. Though there can be challenging moments sometimes, we're a great team, and all very supportive of each other," shares Emma, a nurse on our Inpatient Unit.

We're on the lookout for a Night Nurse - Could you join us? 👉 https://www.stfrancis.org.uk/work-with-us/careers/hospice-inpatient-unit-band-5-night-nurse

"We’re a friendly, fun team. For some people, night shifts can really suit them. Working as a team overnight includes medication rounds and tending to patient and relatives' needs."

Make a move that's

One week until our Big Give Christmas Challenge campaign begins!🌟For one week only, between Tuesday 2nd December - Tuesd...
25/11/2025

One week until our Big Give Christmas Challenge campaign begins!🌟

For one week only, between Tuesday 2nd December - Tuesday 9th December, every donation to the Hospice via the Big Give will be doubled until we hit our target - helping to fund care for patients over the twelve days of Christmas.

💜Double the donation
💜Double the precious moments this Christmas

Our nursing team do everything they can to make Christmas an extra special time for patients and their families. As one patient's son said: “The Hospice gave our whole family Christmas back. It allowed us all to be together and to have one last Christmas with Dad. It was probably the best Christmas I've had.”🎄

Find out more here👉stfrancis.org.uk/biggive

We get it. Who wants to think about getting rid of a Christmas tree that you haven't even bought yet? 🤔But this year the...
24/11/2025

We get it. Who wants to think about getting rid of a Christmas tree that you haven't even bought yet? 🤔

But this year the Hospice has set itself an ambitious target: to fund a nurse's salary through our Christmas Tree Collection donations. To inspire you to take part, everyone who signs up by 5pm on Wednesday 26th November will be entered in a prize draw to win a free tree. 🎄🎄🎄

The good news: you’ll probably have a better than usual shot at winning! As you can imagine, not that many people are organised enough to sign up for their tree collection in November! 😉

Sign up now 👉Stfrancis.org.uk/treecollection

Full T&Cs on our website.

After Bill was diagnosed with a grade 4 glioblastoma, his wife Lesley did her best to care for him at home. But when Bil...
23/11/2025

After Bill was diagnosed with a grade 4 glioblastoma, his wife Lesley did her best to care for him at home. But when Bill’s symptoms worsened in the run-up to Christmas, his family was left terrified and unsure of what to do.

Lesley explained what happened next: “When I took him to the Hospice that first morning in December, I was in quite a state,” she said. “I just burst out crying. A lady got me a cup of tea and from that moment, I started to relax.”

Their family saw a huge transformation in Bill only a day after he arrived at the Hospice. “As soon as he came in [to the Hospice], all these negative emotions of fear and not knowing and helplessness, every single negative emotion was taken away. Within a day his humour was back, he was telling stories. He’d gone from being completely disengaged to hosting a roomful of people again,” Bill’s son Sam shared.

The family was able to share a Christmas meal out together – and to spend one last Christmas together. Bill even had some special visitors – a pair of donkeys – come to the Hospice on Christmas eve.

“The compassion and care they showed [at the Hospice] was phenomenal, from the cleaning ladies to the people who bathed him,” Lesley explained. “I don’t know what I’d have done without them. I felt like I’d found heaven.”

The Hospice relies on your donations to continue caring for patients like Bill. Over 80% of our funds come from people like you. So please DONATE to us through THE BIG GIVE from 2 - 9 December and your donation will be doubled!!

💜This means that when you donate £5, the Hospice will receive £10.

💜Your donation of £25 will bring £50 to the Hospice – enough to pay for over three hours of a nurse’s time on the Inpatient Unit. So you’ll double your impact by donating through the Big Give.

Please SHARE this post with someone who’d like to double their impact for patients through the Big Give from 2nd – 9th December. ✨🎄🥰

https://donate.biggive.org/campaign/a05WS000005wWkbYAE

The Hospice is delighted to once again host the NHS Beds and Herts Breast Screening Mobile. It has returned to the Hospi...
22/11/2025

The Hospice is delighted to once again host the NHS Beds and Herts Breast Screening Mobile. It has returned to the Hospice’s car park and will be here until April 2026.

The service will be sending appointment letters and inviting eligible local women aged 50-70 for their routine breast screening appointment. They’ll invite women from Gossoms End, Rothschild House and Manor Street Surgeries over the next few months.

Mammographer Lynne (pictured) said, "Already we've had a great uptake, including women coming for their first invitation. Local women are very good at attending their breast screenings. Being based here in Berkhamsted makes it very convenient for everyone."

Women aged over 71 from a local GP practice may invite themselves by ringing the service direct on 01582 497599 or by e-mailing bscreen@ldh.nhs.uk to arrange an appointment.

🎄✨ Christmas in Chesham – Meet Santa at Chapter Two ✨🎄Santa will be in town TODAY, Friday 21st November, between 6–8pm a...
21/11/2025

🎄✨ Christmas in Chesham – Meet Santa at Chapter Two ✨🎄

Santa will be in town TODAY, Friday 21st November, between 6–8pm at Chapter Two Bookshop as part of the Christmas in Chesham celebrations. The evening kicks off with the switch-on of the town lights at 6:30pm in Market Square by Alex Horne (co-presenter of ‘Taskmaster’) along with Chesham United FC.

📚 You can meet Santa in his grotto at Chapter Two where every child will receive the gift of a book to mark the start of the festive season (£3 entry fee).

🎁 While you’re there, explore the shop’s treasure trove of books and gifts for all ages –perfect for holiday presents.

Also, don’t miss our tombola from 5pm, with all proceeds supporting our vital work in the community.

So, be sure to stop by Chapter Two, say hello to Father Christmas, grab yourself something to read over the Christmas holidays or a gift for a loved one!

Sharon and Claire support people who are caring for someone with a life-limiting illness. 💜Claire explained, “Many peopl...
20/11/2025

Sharon and Claire support people who are caring for someone with a life-limiting illness. 💜

Claire explained, “Many people don’t see themselves as a carer. They think the care they’re giving is simply part of their role, for instance as a husband, wife, son or daughter. But anyone who provides unpaid support is a carer. This means they have certain rights and are entitled to support.”

Today is Carers’ Rights Day with the theme ‘Know your Rights, Use Your Rights.’

If you’re caring for someone as an unpaid carer you have rights, such as:

👉 The right to a carer’s assessment. This can be a first step to getting more support through your local council.

👉 The right to register as a carer with your GP. This can give you priority access to things like vaccines and health checks.

👉The right to request flexible working and unpaid carers leave.

If you are caring for an adult with a life-limiting illness and think you would benefit from carer support in our area, please get in touch: https://www.stfrancis.org.uk/our-care/family-friends/support-for-carers

A huge shoutout to NFU Mutual for their recent donation of £7,899! The team popped up to the Hospice earlier this month ...
20/11/2025

A huge shoutout to NFU Mutual for their recent donation of £7,899! The team popped up to the Hospice earlier this month to share their support. 🥰

"NFU Mutual Hemel Hempstead are delighted to be able to support The Hospice of St Francis, to receive a donation from the NFU Mutual’s 2025 Agency Giving Fund," Jason at NFU Mutual.

"The Hospice provides absolutely vital services to our local community and with only 17% of their overall funding requirement coming from Government, support from elsewhere is fundamental to the Hospice being able to continue the fabulous work they do. Thank you to everyone at the Hospice for everything you do to help support people in the area."

A massive thank you from us - A hospice is a gift the community gives to itself!

Competition time! Enter our prize draw to win a beautiful real Christmas tree! 🎄Sign up to our Christmas Tree Collection...
18/11/2025

Competition time! Enter our prize draw to win a beautiful real Christmas tree! 🎄

Sign up to our Christmas Tree Collection by 26th November and you’ll be automatically included in our prize draw where you could win a locally-grown Christmas tree, up to seven feet tall!

James from The Real Christmas Tree Farm is kindly providing the winner’s tree, which can be chosen from his selection of trees on sale at the Hospice from 29th November.

Sign up by 5pm on 26th November for a chance to win👉https://www.stfrancis.org.uk/treecollection

We will be collecting trees from the following postcodes:

• Harpenden (AL5)
• St Albans, Redbourn & Markyate (AL1, AL2, AL3, AL4)
• Hemel Hempstead (HP1, HP2, HP3)
• Berkhamsted (HP4)
• Tring (HP23)
• Chesham (HP5)
• Amersham (HP6)
• Kings Langley (WD4)
• Abbots Langley (WD5)

Full T&Cs on our website - anyone already registered for our tree collection will be included.

Additional tickets have been added for our popular Christmas Carol service at St Albans Cathedral on Sunday 7th December...
17/11/2025

Additional tickets have been added for our popular Christmas Carol service at St Albans Cathedral on Sunday 7th December at 2pm!🎶You can book yours via the cathedral website 👉 https://www.stalbanscathedral.org/Event/the-carol-concert-by-the-hospice-of-st-francis-2025

Hosted in the stunning St Albans Cathedral, we'll have special performances from talented local choirs, thoughtful festive readings and plenty of opportunity for merry audience participation! It promises to be a magical afternoon of carols, guaranteed to get you in the festive spirit!

We. can't. wait! 😍

Address

Spring Garden Lane
Berkhamsted
HP43GW

Telephone

+441442869550

Website

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Every Life is Precious

The Hospice of St Francis is here to help people live their precious lives well. Our free care has many meanings and is defined by each person's need, needs that may change many times. We care for the whole person or family unit for however long we are needed – days, weeks, months or years.

We love what we do and we love your support too. Volunteering, sharing stories from your preciouslife, shopping with us (@ReturnedtoGlory / http://www.stfrancis.org.uk/shop-with-us), taking part in a fundraising challenge or simply donating to us, from coins in a home box to leaving a gift in your Will, all helps us raise over £5 million annually to fund our free care. Every penny is needed to do what we do.