SinglePoint has been an invaluable lifeline for Susie and her family

10 Years of SinglePoint

Recently, St Helena have celebrated 10 years of SinglePoint. A 24 hours a day, 7 days a week phone support and rapid response service for people living with incurable illness. For the past decade, expert nurses are on the end of the phone to give advice and support day and night, and rapid response nurses or other professionals may also visit people in crisis at home.  

In the first seven months, the team received more than 13,000 calls. In 2022/23 there were 45,544 calls to SinglePoint and 1,588 rapid response home visits. 

A Desperate Phone Call

One of these phone calls was from Susie. She had three days to prepare for her very unwell father to live with her. He has Lewy Body Dementia and Parkinson’s and his situation became so urgent, action was needed very quickly. 

Having her own busy life with a family and running her own digital marketing agency in Colchester, life was already tricky to ensure everything was ready for the arrival for her father to be in her care. Because of the urgency of the whole situation, there wasn’t time to register her father with a GP so only the emergency services could help them with his illness. 

Susie didn’t know who to turn to, so called SinglePoint. 

“I can’t tell you how wonderful it was just to be able to have someone calm and helpful on the end of the phone. This isn’t 111, this is help and advice in a difficult situation. Registered nurses called me back quickly, a number of times.  And their advice was just wonderful to have.

A Strong Team

"You need a team around you when you’re caring for someone. A really strong team who can help you fight for what your loved one needs. St Helena Hospice provided the best team I could imagine, and I am amazed at everything they do to support people in our community and beyond.

"They guided me with all sorts of care provision and helped me register him quickly, they advocated for him where they needed to and they helped speed up getting everything in place: and there was a lot we needed to have in place. 

"When I couldn’t get through on 111 on one of the other times we needed help, and the wait for 999 was too long, it was the hospice I called, who found a way to help. And they didn’t just help my dad: the helped me too. It’s really hard going through this and a kind word is worth all the money in the world sometimes isn’t it?

Before You Need the Hospice, You Don't Realise their Impact

"It's so true that before you need the Hospice, you don’t realise the impact they have or the incredible job they do.

"Knowing they are there: it’s invaluable. It really is a lifeline.”

Giving Back

Susie now wants to do something good after a really hard year by bringing inspirational people together. She is running a Masquerade Networking Charity Ball for business leaders, raising funds for St Helena on 30th November. Click here to find out more.

SinglePoint is available 24/7 on 01206 890 360, or for people whose preferred language is British Sign Language click the ‘BSL Live’ button at the top of the website www.sthelena.org.uk. 

If you would like to help fund the incredible work that SinglePoint does day in day out for people just like Susie by playing Your Hospice Lottery, click below.