Wellbeing at the heart

Putting comfort, health and happiness at the forefront, we’ve undergone an exciting refurbishment to repurpose our Cedar Ward so that we can meet the changing needs of our patients and their families.

The space is now home to our new Wellbeing Service which encompasses the ‘Wellbeing Hub’ and the ‘Wellbeing Unit’. The aim of our innovative new service is to support and empower people to improve their quality of life in a way defined by them. This includes giving people the knowledge, skills and confidence to manage their symptoms and to improve how prepared they feel for living with the implications of a life-limiting illness. The Wellbeing Hub provides a range of communitybased palliative rehabilitation support via courses, classes and outpatient clinics delivered both in person at the Hospice and virtually to maximise accessibility. We’ve also created a dedicated section on our website which details all upcoming classes and programmes and has a number of resources which can be accessed online from the comfort of home.

The Wellbeing Unit offers short stay inpatient beds for goals focussed rehabilitation, selfmanagement support, symptom assessment and management and for any other treatments which are unable to be provided on an outpatient basis. For more information on our Wellbeing Service, email wellbeing@ stcolumbashospice.org.uk or visit stcolumbashospice. org.uk/wellbeing-service/

LISA KERR

WELLBEING HUB MANAGER

It’s still early days, but outcomes for our patients so far include gaining a more positive outlook, becoming less isolated and having a greater sense of wellbeing, one patient, said: "I'm leaving here feeling like a new woman, I'm so glad I came! It’s so good to learn new things that I can take home with me. It's been like a holiday, away from all the pain and everything, I haven’t had a full night’s sleep like that in over 2 years!"

The Wellbeing Service is about ensuring people feel confident and in control of their own wellbeing. We’re seeing a move away from people wanting to receive care in a clinical setting with an increasing number of our service users opting to be at home with family for as long as possible. Anything we can do to support that and encourage independence is a huge comfort for our patients as it enables choice. We’ve managed to create a welcoming and safe space offering a wide range of person-centred care and support. With the additional benefits the short stay unit brings, I think we have a service that’s innovative and reflects what matters most to our patients. The combination of the unit and hub is a first in Scotland which is a great achievement, we’re excited to see how it develops over the coming months.

Summer appeal

This summer, you can support our Wellbeing journey and directly support people in your local community. stcolumbashospice.org.uk/donate