About us
St Luke’s Hospice cares for people approaching the end of their life in Harrow and Brent. We aim to give the people we care for the best possible quality of life, each and every day. Supporting local people and their families is at the heart of what we do – focusing on what matters the most to them is at the centre of our care.
Founded by local communities in 1987, we have been providing free expert end of life day care to local people and specialist care in our inpatient unit (IPU) since 2000. Our IPU can care for people in their final days, provide intensive care to help get symptoms under control or give respite care. Many of the people who are cared for in our IPU go home again.
Two thirds of our care is now provided in the comfort of peoples’ homes, as we respect that this is where most people would like to be looked after. The care we give is free of charge, available to all, and respects the cultures, religions and beliefs in our richly diverse community.
We believe in empowering people and provide a wide range of expert care intended to keep people feeling well, independent and mobile for as long as possible. In addition to Home Care and our IPU, alongside outpatient clinics, we provide a range of care intended to support people’s wellbeing including patient and family support, complementary therapy and physiotherapy services.
Our 24-hour helpline and referral service, the St Luke’s Palliative Helpline, is run by a dedicated team of expert nurses who can give advice, provide a rapid response in times of crisis and effectively co-ordinate care, from arranging prescriptions, to getting vital equipment delivered – anything people need to avoid going to hospital and to stay comfortably in their home.
We also have a more specialist community team who can manage more complex needs. In whatever way we are providing care, it is given with compassion and dignity and involves not just looking after the patient, but also includes supporting the people closest to them.
St Luke’s Hospice provides world class palliative (end of life) care and is committed to working collaboratively and sharing our expertise with other health care professionals outside of the hospice. We have an extensive education offering, teaching nursing degree modules, providing training and shadowing opportunities for GP’s, junior doctors, nurses, healthcare assistants, care home staff and paramedics. We emphasise good working relationships with our amazing colleagues in the NHS and take a highly collaborative approach, working together to improve the experience for people who are approaching the end of their life.
We receive around 30% of our funding needed for our care from the NHS and the rest is raised from the amazing generosity of the organisations and people who make our care possible. Our local community is a vital partner in our care, kindly supporting us through their donations and fundraising alongside the dedication of over 800 incredible volunteers who freely give us their time to support the best possible end of life care for local people.
