Introducing Forest Holme Hospice

For more than 30 years, Forest Holme Hospice has provided specialist palliative and end-of-life care for people across Poole, Wimborne, the Isle of Purbeck and surrounding communities.

For many, the word ‘hospice’ may immediately bring thoughts of end-of-life care, but Forest Holme is about much more than that. It is about people: helping adults living with life-limiting illnesses, supporting their families and loved ones, and providing care, compassion and practical assistance during some of the most difficult times in their lives.

Forest Holme Hospice Charity was established in 1994 to raise funds to enhance the specialist palliative and end-of-life care provided by Forest Holme Hospice, whose clinical teams are part of University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust.

The dedicated hospice facility opened in Poole in 1994 and, since then, Forest Holme has cared for more than 30,000 patients and their families.

Hospice care is about much more than end of life

At its heart, Forest Holme exists to ensure that people affected by life-limiting illness receive the care and support they need, whether that is within the hospice itself, in their own homes, in a care home or while they are in hospital.

The hospice has an 11-bed inpatient ward alongside a community palliative care team providing specialist support throughout the local area. Each year, Forest Holme Hospice Charity helps fund care for more than 1,500 adults and their families who are living with a life-limiting or terminal illness.

However, specialist palliative care involves much more than managing physical symptoms. Forest Holme supports the emotional and psychological wellbeing of patients and their families, with counselling, bereavement support and complementary therapies forming part of the wider care available.

The charity also helps fund specialist nursing and healthcare roles, education and training, equipment, furniture and patient welfare. This funding helps Forest Holme provide personalised care that considers the needs of the whole person.

For patients being cared for on the inpatient ward, family and friends can visit 24 hours a day. Pets are welcome too, and Forest Holme has even welcomed a pony to visit its owner. A relatives’ lounge and kitchen, along with garden spaces to enjoy, help families spend valuable time together in more comfortable and familiar surroundings.

Helping people receive care at home

One of the most important developments in recent years has been the expansion of Forest Holme’s Hospice at Home service into Poole.

For many people, being at home, surrounded by familiar things, the people they love and their pets, can be incredibly important during their final days.

Hospice at Home provides personalised care and support for patients and families in their own surroundings. Dedicated nurses and healthcare support workers work alongside community specialist palliative care teams, consultants, GPs and other services to help make this possible.

Support for families doesn’t stop after someone dies

Forest Holme’s support does not end when someone dies.

Bereavement can be an incredibly lonely experience, and the charity recognises that everyone experiences and navigates grief differently.

Its Bereavement Cafés provide warm, informal spaces where people can meet others experiencing loss, talk if they wish to, or simply spend time with people who understand.

The cafés are open to everyone, whether or not their loved one was cared for by Forest Holme. The charity also helps provide additional bereavement support through counselling, trained Bereavement Befrienders and Living with Loss sessions.

Forest Holme regularly shares personal stories from families who have experienced its services. These offer an insight into the human impact of hospice care and the different ways people remember and celebrate the lives of those they have lost.

The people who make the care possible

While funding is essential, it is the people who make hospice care what it is.

From specialist nurses and healthcare professionals to counsellors, therapists, volunteers and the wider charity team, Forest Holme brings together people with a shared commitment to compassionate, person-centred care.

The charity also invests in staff wellbeing, education, training and development, recognising the importance of looking after those who care for others.

If you or someone you love needs support

People living with an advanced, progressive illness who need additional help with managing symptoms, emotional or practical concerns, or conversations about end-of-life care may be referred to Forest Holme.
Referrals are generally made by a GP, consultant, hospital team or another healthcare professional. People can contact Forest Holme with questions, but access to specialist care follows an appropriate referral and assessment process.

If you are unsure whether Forest Holme may be able to help, you can speak to the team for advice by calling its 24-hour advice line on 0300 019 8115 or visiting the Forest Holme referral page.

A community that keeps Forest Holme going

Forest Holme is a powerful example of the difference a local community can make.
NHS funding is limited, which is why Forest Holme Hospice Charity now needs to raise £1.1 million every year. This equates to just over £3,000 every day and helps support all aspects of the hospice.

The money raised helps fund the 11-bed inpatient ward, community palliative care team and Hospice at Home service, alongside specialist staff, equipment, counselling, complementary therapies, bereavement support and patient welfare.

People support Forest Holme through sponsored challenges, walks, golf days, concerts, community events, workplace fundraising, donations, volunteering and gifts in Wills.
Some events have become established fixtures in the local calendar and others are deeply personal and organised by families and friends in memory of someone special.

Much more than a hospice building

Perhaps the best way to understand Forest Holme is not simply to think of it as a hospice building but as a network of care, support and compassion reaching into homes, hospitals, community spaces and local families.

Forest Holme is there when someone needs specialist medical care, when a family needs somebody to talk to and when someone is struggling with grief months or even years after a bereavement. Through Hospice at Home, it can also be there for people who want to remain somewhere familiar during their final days.

Forest Holme’s vision is that every adult in the community affected by a potentially life-limiting illness should have equal access to the support and services they need, whenever and wherever they need them.

Its work touches thousands of local lives, often at moments families never expected to face. Behind every service, every nurse, every Bereavement Café and every moment of support is a community helping to make that care possible.

To learn more about Forest Holme Hospice, its work and how you can support the charity, visit forestholmehospice.org.uk or follow its latest news, stories, events and fundraising activities online.

There are three in memory events each year, which anyone can attend.

• The Sunset Walk in April
• Tie a Yellow Ribbon in June
• Light Up a Life in December

A full list of all upcoming events can be found here.