Our history

Background

The second half of the twentieth century was marked by a breath-taking pace of change in nearly every aspect of life - social, ethnological, economic and political.  As part of that change, the development of the modern hospice movement was a distinctive feature.

St Andrew's Hospice in Grimsby has played an essential part in all this and in a movement which has its origins as far back as the 4th Century, when religious orders offered expressions of Christian hospitality and care to travellers and to the sick. Whilst the modern hospice movement has come a long way from those origins, the features of Christian 'hospitality and care' have endured and are deeply embedded in the life of St Andrew's.

The hospices in the UK have stayed firmly within the voluntary sector.  Their funding through the generosity of local people has enabled communities to invest in the dignity of those with life limiting illness and, in a very real way, the history of St Andrew's Hospice is a reflection of the generosity of the people of North East Lincolnshire and beyond. The hospice has been, and continues to be, blessed by gifted individuals who, working as a team, have raised the funds, overcome the challenges and created a centre of hospitality and care of which our community can be proud.

'Making each day count' is more than just a slogan, it is the reality for the adults and children drawn into the hospitality and care offered by St Andrew's. The past thirty years is a history of a generous community, inspirational leadership, remarkable patients, staff, volunteers and directors.

The Beginning

The late 1960's and 1970's saw a rapid increase in the number of Independent Hospices opened in the UK. They were inspired by Dame Cicely Saunders, who had founded St Christopher's Hospice in London in 1967, and encouraged a radical new approach to end-of-life care.

1978

1978 - the idea of establishing a Hospice in the Grimsby area first canvassed. A series of gatherings culminated in a meeting held at Scartho Road Hospital on 19th July 1979 when 70 people were present, and the decision was taken to establish a Charity to be known as St Andrew's Hospice. A Trust Deed was drafted and signed in December 1979, and St Andrew's Hospice was registered as a Charity early in 1980.

1980

26th January, the first Day Centre was opened at the Molson Centre in Kent Street, Grimsby. In May 1981, a fundraising campaign was started and the search began for suitable premises.

The Beeches and the first Hospice shop

Late in 1983, Beech Farm House in Waltham Road, Scartho came onto the market. By this time the Hospice funds had risen to over £50,000, and in February 1984 "The Beeches" was purchased and an extensive conversion programme commenced, alongside a period of increased fundraising activity. The idea was to open the Hospice as a Day Centre only in the first instance.

1984

The Beeches opened its doors on 14th October 1984 with the formal opening by Lord & Lady Yarborough.

1985

Tthe first Hospice shop was opened in Grimsby.

1986

By the beginning of 1986 it was clear that there was an ever increasing need for in-patient facilities at The Beeches, and plans for in-patient rooms were prepared and approved. The new facility welcomed its first patients on 12th December 1986. The advent of in-patient care increased the annual running costs from £18,000 to £150,000 overnight!

1988

A second Hospice shop was opened in Cambridge Street, Cleethorpes. The Grimsby Gazette on its front page dated 12th May 1988 reported that "St Andrews Hospice in Grimsby has raised an amazing £150,000 in the last year, an increase of 238% of any previous year's income!

The move to Peaks Lane

1992

By 1992, available space at The Beeches was stretched to breaking point and both the office and reception facilities were deemed to be not fit for purpose. One option appeared to be to acquire another site in the Grimsby/Cleethorpes area and provide a purpose-built Hospice. In May 1993, the Hospice made an offer of £150,000 to purchase a site in Peaks Lane, which was accepted. Final plans for converting the Peaks Lane property were approved.

1995

On November 30th 1995, BBC Newscaster, Martyn Lewis, officially opened the new Peaks Lane facility.

1997

By the end of the year the Hospice had 240 registered volunteers.

1998

On the 27th March the St Andrew's Hospice Lottery, was officially launched, with the first draw being held on 5th June.

There was increasing interest in the development of a Children's Hospice Unit, and by November it had been agreed in principle that a Children's Hospice should be built. In March 2000, BBC Radio Humberside launched a major appeal for the Children's Hospice, which was to open on 5th March with its official title of St Andrew's Hospice - Child and Adolescent Unit. The Unit was registered at the outset for 4 in-patients and 4 day patients, with the initial intention of providing respite care from Monday to Friday each week. News from Radio Humberside was encouraging, with their Appeal Funds then approaching the £200,000 target!

1999

On 11th May, Helen Thomas and her colleagues from BBC Radio Humberside presented a cheque for £220,341 from their Children's Hospice Appeal.

2000

Mr & Mrs Trotter left us the former Post Office in Pinfold Lane, Scartho and in 2001 we opened the premises as a ladies clothes shop called "Second Gear".

2001

Actress Julie Peasgood took part in the Christmas edition of "Celebrity Who Wants to be a Millionaire" and raised £16,000 for the Hospice. Julie had generously supported the Hospice for a number of years and is a welcome visitor on many occasions.

2002

We took over the Tea Bar in the Hull Magistrates Courts from the WRVS

2003

We took over the tea bar at Grimsby Magistrates Court

Lymphoedema clinics started operating at The Pink Rose Suite, in Grimsby Hospital and the Pilgrim Health Centre in Immingham

2005

A Hospice shop was opened in Cromwell Road, Grimsby

2006

Hospice shops opened in Louth and Hull

2009

The Tea Bar at Pilgrim Health Centre opened, and the Hospice Board made the decision that the whole site at Peaks Lane needed developing to be fit for purpose for the future. A team of architects was duly selected.

2010

St Andrew's Hospice rebranded its weekly Lottery to become "The Big Fish Lottery" and started selling weekly one-off tickets.

A Hospice shop was opened in Sutton on Sea, as well as the Furniture shop annexe adjacent to our Immingham Shop.

The majority of the year has been spent trying to keep track of the huge changes that are occurring in health care in general, and the impact those changes have directly on our work in Hospices.

Hospices have been the main provider of specialist palliative care in the UK since their inception, but now the Government is taking a more active interest in how end-of-life care services are delivered. There is an increasing expectation from Government and statutory agencies that Hospice services will operate within the NHS framework and End-of-Life Care Strategy. Hospices who engage with the new framework could be seen as an early implementer. Hospices which opt out may be left on the sidelines as a small contributor to the needs of those looking for excellence. We are adopting the former approach and are playing a major role in shaping the services provided to people at the end of their lives

St Andrew's will be directly affected and presented with a number of opportunities and challenges. Primarily we need a flexible plan to enable us to provide efficient and effective services to as many people as possible. We have already, and for a number of years, extended the provision of Hospice care to patients with any life-limiting illness and care for patients with chronic heart and lung conditions and Multiple Sclerosis, to name but a few, although many people still think that we only care for patients who have cancer. The next huge challenge is being able to provide care to patients who have a life-limiting illness and who also have dementia.

However, to provide all these services we need more space, and redeveloping our existing site will be expensive. The second challenge, as ever, is developing new income streams to ensure we can not only fund existing services but also raise large amounts of additional income to enable us to grow to meet the evolving needs of this community. Finally, it's important to stress that the huge strides we have made over the years would not have been possible without the generous support of this local community, and the continued existence of St Andrew's Hospice remains in the hands of the people for whom we provide services.