We are delighted to see the publication of this document from the Department of Health, which reflects the importance of people being able to die in the setting they choose.

Chief Executive Sandie Foxall-Smith said, “The focus at St Peter’s has always been to allow the patient be cared for in their preferred place of choice, whether that is in the familiar surroundings of their own home or within one of our two hospice buildings, at Knowle and Brentry.”

“Our teams of Community Nurse Specialists already work closely with GPs and district nurses and other agencies in Bristol to enable this to happen.”

St Peter’s Hospice is Bristol’s hospice and every year provides specialised palliative care to its patients and support to 5,000 family members and children. All of its patient services are free.

St Peter’s provides a range of patient services at its two Hospices at Brentry and Knowle, and also delivers care and support in local homes through its Community Nurse Specialist teams and Hospice at Home service.

Mrs Foxall-Smith said, “Thanks to the support and generosity of local people we have already begun to

expand our Hospice at Home team this year. We are recruiting new nurses to our team as we are already overwhelmed with the demand for this type of care. We know that this service will need to grow further in the future to meet the needs of our patients"

“St Peter’s is also leading the way in Bristol with our education and training department providing more training for staff working within care homes. This two year project which is supported with a grant from our local Primary Care Trust, will help improve end of care in Bristol care homes. It is exactly this type of work that the ‘End of Life Care Strategy’ is supporting.”

Sandie said, “We have already started to talk with our PCT commissioner and to work with the service design group for ‘end of life care’ in Bristol to consider how the hospice may help them achieve the new strategy launched today.”