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.
We were childhood sweethearts. We were only 13 when we first met. We were best friends for two years, and by age 15, we became a couple. When we were 18, we went to university together in Reading, and after our studies, we moved back to Swindon.
Harry was a super fit and healthy 24-year-old when he began to experience unusual back pain in March 2020. We first thought it was a herniated disc, and he started taking strong anti-inflammatories and was told to rest.
Over the week or so that followed, he began to lose sensation in his feet which rapidly spread up his right leg. An MRI revealed that his pain was caused by a 4.5cm tumour in his spine. We were all so shocked.
After hours of intensive spinal surgery, the doctors obtained a sample which revealed his diagnosis whilst further scans confirmed spinal metastases. Within a couple of weeks, Harry lost all sensation and movement from the waist down.
In June 2020, Harry completed six weeks of high-dosage radiotherapy to his brain and spine in combination with chemotherapy. We breathed a huge sigh of relief when told the news that this had resulted in significant shrinkage to all areas of growth.
Harry was making excellent progress with daily physiotherapy and started to regain some movement in his legs again. In November 2020, he reached his goal of standing by the end of the year (albeit with a power-assisted machine)! We were so overjoyed to see such encouraging signs. However, later the same month, a review scan revealed bad news. Despite the chemotherapy, there had been significant progression. Shortly afterward, Harry lost all leg function again. To say we were devastated is an understatement.
Harry reached a point where he needed a lot of care and he had become very dependent on the people around him. Even though Harry knew he didn’t have long left, he was able to come to terms with his fate. He showed incredible inner strength. He wrote journals which really helped him to open up and start talking about what was going to happen.
In March 2021, we got married in a small, intimate ceremony at Harry’s mum and dads’ house. Just a few weeks later, in May 2021, Harry died at his parents’ home, surrounded by his loved ones.
The care we received at Prospect Hospice was incredible, I don’t associate Prospect with death and dying and they are totally onboard with living and empowering you to live the best life you can. The care they offer goes far beyond medicine. They were a huge influence on how he was able to live as positively as he did with his circumstances.
We set up a crowd-sourcing page to fund Harry’s care, unfortunately, he passed away before we could use the money. As a family, we decided to use the money to fund a psychotherapist at Prospect Hospice. We raised nearly £100,000 for Harry meaning that other patients and families received care and support during such a terrible time.
Harry touched many hearts. Our life together was short, but our love and memories were eternal. He inspired beauty and is the reason I’m grateful for life. I miss my sweet husband constantly, yet he’s with me in each way I honour his short but remarkable life.
We were able to support Harry and his family, providing him with the care he needed to spend his final days at home, surrounded by loved ones and offering Sinead and their families precious moments together. Will you help us be there for more families like Sinead’s.