Queen praises hospices but says she ‘can’t believe there are so few’.
The Queen has said there “aren’t nearly enough” hospices in the country as she praised their work in providing end of life care.
Camillas was visiting Prospect Hospital in Wroughton, Swindon, which is celebrating its 45th anniversary. It provides the only dedicated end-of-life care service for people in northeast Wiltshire, free of charge.
During her fourth visit to the charity yesterday, Camilla met staff, volunteers and supporters as well as patients and their families. She made an impromptu speech after unveiling a plaque at the Evans Education Centre at the site, named after the founder, the Rev Deryck Evans. “Every time I come here, I come away feeling so impressed and so lucky that Wiltshire has something like this to look after people who are at the end of their life. ….As I have said time and time again, I wish we could clone these places because there aren’t nearly enough. We have to keep them going. I know a lot of people help out but we need a lot more.”
She spoke about the death of Evans at the hospice in 2008, surrounded by his family and visited by his pet cat. She said:" You couldn’t wish for a better death. A good death is so important. That’s why there should be so many more of these hospices. I can’t believe we have so few in this country.
Camilla was told of the challenges in funding hospices and heard that Prospect Hospice receives about £1.4 million from the government, accounting for less than 20 per cent of its costs.
From the Times Wednesday January 22 2025