Witham MP Priti Patel visits Farleigh

It was five years since Dame Priti last visited, but she is a keen supporter of our store in Witham and often visits and donates there.

This visit gave her the opportunity to talk with Sarah about Farleigh’s approach to care. They went on a tour of the hospice together, meeting the care teams on our specialist Inpatient Unit and in the North locality to understand more about their day-to-day activities.

They also met with our Medical Director, Dr Eva Lew, to talk through the positive developments Farleigh makes locally in palliative and end of life care and also the challenges that lie ahead. This includes a significant increase in demand for end of life care over the next 15 years and also a lack of funding from the NHS to meet this demand.

Sarah said, “It was wonderful to welcome Dame Priti to Farleigh Hospice, as a longstanding supporter of the hospice and as a local MP. It was a great opportunity for Farleigh to show decision-makers like Priti the excellent care that our team provides for our residents and their families. During her visit, we were able to speak about the challenges the hospice sector faces and how we can overcome them, as well as the work we are doing both nationally and locally to change attitudes around dying, death and bereavement and engagement with our different communities. I’d like to thank Priti for her continued support and for taking the time to visit us at Farleigh Hospice.”