Our Commitment to Achieving Equal Access

Ahead of this year’s World Hospice & Palliative Care Day on 9th October, each day we will be sharing news, initiatives and campaigns from Willowbrook Hospice to show our community how we are committed to equity and equality of care. We believe everyone should have access to palliative and end of life care, no matter who they are or what their background is. We will also be raising awareness and understanding of the needs of people living with life-limiting illnesses and their families.

As a member of the Worldwide Hospice Palliative Care Alliance (WHPCA), Willowbrook Hospice advocates for equal access to palliative care for everyone, and recognises the current inequity in access for groups including those in lower income countries, LGBTQ+ people, those that are homeless, children and young people, people living with physical and mental impairment, and other disadvantaged groups.

To that end, we incorporated a Reaching Out Focus into our 2019-2022 Strategy and Organisational Work Plan, and made a commitment to our own community:

• We will: Reach out to other community organisations so we can understand the needs of groups that traditionally have not accessed palliative care services and seek to address those.

We also set ourselves objectives:

• All members of all the community we serve are aware of services, have equal access and feel comfortable to do so.
• To see more people from across the communities we serve.

This drives us to ensure that members of our community, no matter who they are, see us reaching out to them, and that we are doing everything we can to break down the barriers to access to those who are less likely to access palliative care. Access to palliative care is a human right, and we stand behind the message that no one must be left behind.

You can view the Willowbrook Reaching Out Focus here.

Willowbrook Hospice is one of the UK members of the Worldwide Hospice Palliative Care Alliance (WHPCA), an international non-governmental organisation focusing exclusively on hospice and palliative care development worldwide and a global voice on hospice and palliative care. World Hospice & Palliative Care Day is an annual unified day of action to celebrate and support hospice and palliative care around the world. This year’s theme is “Leave no-one behind – equity in access to palliative care”.