At Prospect Hospice, we provide outstanding, personalised and compassionate care for everyone in Swindon, Marlborough and the surrounding areas affected by a life-limiting illness, completely free of charge. For more than 40 years, we’ve been a dedicated, non-hospital, end-of-life care service for patients and their loved ones - around the clock, every day of the year. Our mission is to ensure that anyone can access the best possible expert care whenever and wherever they need it – whether at the hospice or in their own home. As a charity, we only exist because of the generosity and support of our amazing local community.
Find out about the range of end-of-life care services that we offer to patients and their families. These delivered free of charge and are designed to provide compassionate, personalised support during every stage of a life-limiting illness in every kind of care setting, to anyone who needs it.
We couldn’t do what we do without considerable support from our local community. Find out all the different ways in which you can support Prospect Hospice, including fundraising, volunteering and purchasing from our shops. All contributions are greatly appreciated and enables us to deliver care that is free of charge to our patients and their families.
Our café sits at the heart of our hospice in Wroughton and serves a range of delicious home cooked meals to suit all tastes. Whether you're looking to catch up with friends over lunch or relax with coffee and cake, our Heart of the Hospice café has you covered.
Whether shopping with us in person or online, or donating your pre-loved goods, we thank you for supporting us through our shops where you help to raise around £2million a year for Prospect Hospice.
We pride ourselves on being a great place to work and we're always looking for outstanding people to join our team at the hospice across all areas of the charity.
Prospect Hospice is the leading provider of education and training for end-of-life care in Swindon and north Wiltshire. Working closely with you, our colleagues within partner organisations, we want to ensure that the very best care is available to everyone facing the end of life. This is why we provide education and development opportunities, all of which aim to encourage learning and build confidence in end of life care and support.
In the weeks before Christmas 2020, Malcolm Garrett was putting up his garden lights and hanging a wreath on the door, preparing for a family Christmas. But this was to be a very different Christmas to previous ones. Sadly, in February 2020, his darling wife Angie had died of breast cancer, leaving him, their children James, Emma, Sara and Samantha and nine grandchildren to grieve the woman they all loved so dearly. Very soon afterwards came lockdown, and Malcolm was told that for health reasons he needed to self-isolate for the next few months. Malcolm says he has Prospect Hospice to thank for getting him through that period.
“Prospect Hospice had become involved in caring for Angie in 2019, and even then we all immediately felt they were treating Angie the person, rather than the illness,” says Malcolm.
“Throughout that year, specialist nurses and emotional support staff visited us at home, and were a tremendous help to the whole family.
“The specialist nurses were available on the phone at any time and when Angie seemed to take a turn for the worse or was in extreme pain they provided the necessary support and eased our worries. They were incredible.
“When Angie was nearing the end of her life she was offered a bed in at the hospice’s inpatient unit for her final days, and on one unforgettable day the Prospect Hospice team arranged for the whole family to have the use of the beautiful garden room for an afternoon.
“The memories we all made that day will stay with us all forever. It’s something that could only happen with Prospect Hospice. We all, including our nine grandchildren, ordered pizza and watched a film together, and each child was given a unique patchwork blanket to snuggle under. To our delight they were allowed to keep them, as a memento of this special time.
“After Angie died and I was isolated from the family, it was a very difficult time for us all emotionally. I found it soul-destroying, and felt I had nowhere to turn. And then again Prospect Hospice came to my rescue. Louise from the hospice’s bereavement team provided amazing support in helping me cope with my grief while self-isolating, and the team helped my daughters, who were also struggling, too. They’ve told me we can have that support for as long as we need it.”
Malcolm says this support has helped him do what Angie would want, which is focus on the family around Christmas.
“Angie always hosted “The Garrett Family Christmas” at our house a few weeks before Christmas so our blended family could all be together for one day. This year we will be doing it online, but we are still doing it. I’ve got Prospect Hospice’s awesome staff to thank for giving Angie the best final days we could have asked for, and also for getting me through the hardest year of my life.
“We are so lucky to have our incredible Prospect Hospice. I can never thank them enough.”
30 December 2020
21 December 2020