Support for the voluntary hospice movement has been central to the Irish Hospice Foundation's mission since our foundation in 1986.

But what is 'the voluntary hospice movement? It comes as a surprise to many to learn that most hospice services in Ireland are provided not by the state but by the voluntary sector, although they may receive government funding.

Generally, what this means is that people will have come together to form a group in their local area to fundraise for a hospice service. Often, they will be those who have experienced at first hand the trauma of life-threatening illness in their families. Some of these groups have gone on to establish and run services themselves; others concentrate on raising funds to compensate for the lack or shortage of state funding for end-of-life care in their area.

A service in every county

These independent groups are sometimes referred to collectively as ‘the voluntary hospice movement’. The term now encompasses both established voluntary hospices with dedicated buildings, as well as services based mainly on home-care nursing. There are, in fact, a relatively small number of in-patient hospices in Ireland – but every county can boast at least one hospice home-care service, and some have several services operating in different areas.

Types of support

The Irish Hospice Foundation supports the voluntary hospice movement in a variety of ways, for example by:

• actively engaging in advocacy work aimed at the development of hospice/palliative care throughout Ireland
• supporting local fundraising by coordinating the two annual national fundraising events in aid of hospice care, Sunflower Days (June) and Ireland’s Biggest Coffee Morning (September).
• offering grants for hospice service development (subject to certain criteria) and for further education/professional development.
• offering advice and assistance in the setting up of bereavement support services.
• facilitating debate and action by organising meetings and discussion fora.