THE WICKLOW HOSPICE FOUNDATION APPEALS FOR PUBLIC SUPPORT FOR IRELAND’S BIGGEST COFFEE MORNING 

With Ireland’s Biggest Coffee Morning fast approaching on Thursday September 16^th, The Wicklow Hospice Foundation has appealed to the people of Wicklow to dig deep this year to help raise significant funds to make the new hospice facility a reality as soon as possible.

Ireland’s Biggest Coffee Morning is an all-island fundraising event.  Now in its seventeenth year, the event raises vital funds each year for local hospice care services all over Ireland.  The event is, once again, being sponsored by Bewley’s which has supported it since it began.  The national target is to raise €2 million – that’s over 1million cups of Bewley’s coffee. 

People in workplaces, homes and local organisations across Ireland are being asked to hold a coffee morning and to collect €2 for each cup of Bewley’s fresh ground coffee consumed.  All money raised locally stays locally and goes directly back to fund local Hospice care services.

The Wicklow Hospice Foundation was set up in January 2009 with the support of the Irish Hospice Foundation in an effort to promote and improve palliative care services and to campaign for a stand-alone level three hospice in Co. Wicklow.

We are pleased to be able to report some recent progress within the HSE providing palliative care services in Wicklow;

• The appointment of 3 new specialist homecare nurses bringing the team up to a total of four. The target for a seven-day service is seven such posts.
• The appointment of a specialist palliative care consultant with sessions in Loughlinstown Hospital and with the homecare team.
• The establishment of a working group led by HSE management to agree a site and business case for the establishment of a 12room inpatient hospice.

Ø  The working group has made genuine progress on the business case. This shows that there are real opportunities to achieve our objectives. This can be done by engaging with the current HSE transformation programme aimed at reconfiguring resources to provide better quality and more cost effective care to patients who are facing the last part of life.

Ø  The long-overdue development has been accelerated by an extremely generous donation of a suitable site for the building by the Columban Sisters at Magheramore, near Brittas Bay. We hope to proceed to the outline planning stage in the near future.

Marie Kindlon, PRO of the Wicklow Hospice Foundation stated: “This difficult economic period has affected every community in Ireland.  We appreciate that many individuals and families are facing worrying times. The lack of a Hospice facility in the county leaves the patient and family in frightening isolation. It is not acceptable that people have to travel 60 or more miles to have Hospice care.  Neither is it acceptable for families to have unnecessary stress added to their existing emotional trauma.

YOU can help make a significant difference in how our loved ones are supported in their final days. We would urge people to organise a coffee morning or to support an event that is already taking place in their neighbourhood.”

Hospice or palliative care involves the total care of patients and their families at the stage in a serious illness, where the focus has switched from treatment aimed at cure to ensuring quality of life. Almost 30,000 people die annually in Ireland and over 6,000 people use hospice services every year. It is estimated that up to 13,000 patients will require access to hospice and specialist palliative care in 2016.

International studies have shown that patients using hospice services consume at least 25% fewer medical resources than those who access “usual care.”  This saving is linked to the fact that hospice patients are largely cared for and die at home and they use much less acute hospital services. Hospice patients also live longer and in greater comfort and dignity.

Patrick Bewley said: “We’re delighted to be involved with Ireland’s Biggest Coffee Morning, celebrating its seventeenth year in 2010. As in previous years, over a million cups of Bewley’s coffee will be served on this special day in September.  We want as many people as possible to take part all over Ireland.  The more cups of coffee that we can give away, the greater the benefit that will be achieved for hospices and communities all over Ireland.”

Anyone can host a coffee morning and Bewley’s provides the fresh ground coffee free of charge.  Registration advice and details on how to get your special complimentary Bewley’s fresh ground coffee pack can be obtained by contacting 

Marie on 0863768898, email marie@wicklowhospice.ie or contact your local coordinator see below