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.
When BBC Radio Wiltshire journalist Ashley Heath was diagnosed with a stage 4 brain tumour in 2015, he was told that he could expect to live for around 18 to 20 months. In the event, he underwent five operations and immunotherapy treatment and lived for a further five and a half years.
Ashley’s widow, Nancy (pictured above with her husband as extras in War Horse), says he was very clear with her about where he wanted to die. The majority of people would prefer to die at home, but Ashley wanted to die in Prospect Hospice’s inpatient unit.
“Prospect Hospice had arranged for us to have a hospital bed in the living room as Ashley became less mobile, and we had Prospect Hospice nurses coming in two or three times a day – they were lovely. But Ashley worried that if he died at home it would be a permanent reminder to me whenever I sat there.
“On 2 January 2021 I couldn’t wake him up, and he was taken into Prospect Hospice’s inpatient unit. It was during the pandemic, but Ash got fabulous care – it meant I could be with him, but also have a break, knowing that he was well-cared for. He was very keen that I should remain his wife, not his carer, and Prospect Hospice enabled that to happen.
“Having lived with Ash’s illness for five years, I knew he would nose-dive quite quickly, and David, the social worker Ash saw there, was so supportive and told me I’d got it exactly right. I worried that perhaps I should have got Ashley back home – Prospect Hospice would have cared for him there, too – but David’s reassurance was exactly what I needed to hear. That, and the way he talked with Ashley – chatting about all sorts of stuff, lending a friendly ear, and letting Ashley escape his illness rather than navel-gazing – was a great help and comfort to us. He and the other staff were excellent.
“I worried about what his last moments would be like. How would I know when he was actually going? One of the nurses explained how he would start breathing in a different way, very slowly – the fact that she knew and could tell me was really helpful.
“By now, I could see that Ashley’s body was just all used up. I believe in an afterlife, and in my head I said to his late friend Mark, ‘Mark put your pint down and come and get him, please’. I believe that’s exactly what happened. Ashley was very sleepy, and then he raised a quizzical eyebrow, then gave a little smile, as if to say ‘well, I didn’t expect that!’ and a few breaths later he was gone.”
Ashley died on 25 January 2021 and Nancy says we are extremely lucky to have Prospect Hospice in our community.
“Prospect Hospice really focuses on the patient and family, rather than the illness. I found it incredibly comforting to have a nurse in the room who had done all this before and could reassure me. It was so important that Ashley was listened to, and died in the way he wanted to. It’s amazing that a local charity can provide such fantastic care, and do so without charging a penny.”
Find out more about how you can support the work of the hospice with a regular gift here.