From the moment she walked through the doors of St Joseph’s Hospice, Zenab Ali knew it was a special place. Having made the remarkable journey from domestic assistant to day hospice manager, she is keen to ensure that people across Newham know the Hackney-based service is there for them – and it has more to offer than just end of life care.
St Joseph’s hospice has a very close and special place in my heart, from my very first step into the hospice I felt warm and welcomed. It is such an amazing place to work. The care given to patients and families is so specialised with a holistic approach.
Many people hear the word hospice and think this is a place where people come to die. Yes, people do come to the hospice for end of life care, however we also have many other outpatient services such as physiotherapy, complementary therapy, counselling and social worker input.
Day Hospice at St Joseph’s gives people with a life-limiting condition the opportunity to spend an enjoyable, lively day with others in a similar situation, in a friendly and caring environment.

Days are tailored to meet individual needs, focusing on how each person is coping with their illness and helping to ease some of the physical and emotional difficulties they may be experiencing.
Coming to Day Hospice helps people make new friendships, maintain their independence and live life to the fullest. It is for anyone aged over 18 with a life-limiting condition, living in the City of London and the boroughs of Hackney, Tower Hamlets and Newham.
Day Hospice runs three days a week from 10am to 3pm. People usually attend one day a week for 12 weeks, on the same day so they can get to know the people. Some people attend for just one 12 week block, some are re-referred. There are approximately 8-12 people on an average day. Referrals are taken from healthcare providers but people can also refer themselves by calling the First Contact Team.
Services at Day Hospice include:
• symptom advice
• advance care planning
• emotional and social support
• arts and crafts (e.g. painting, sewing and printing)
• gym group
• social work or benefits advice
• complementary therapies (e.g. aromatherapy and acupuncture)
• counselling
• physiotherapy
• chiropody
• spiritual support from our chaplains
• an opportunity to talk to staff about any issue
Being diagnosed with a life-limiting illness affects all parts of your life, taking a mental, emotional and physical toll. For many of our patients, their illness means they are socially isolated which greatly impacts their mental and emotional wellbeing.
While Day Hospice allows our patients to attend outpatient appointments with our therapies and advice services (for complementary therapies, benefits advice, counselling) or medical appointments (physiotherapy, pain-management and symptom control) – the main benefit for most of the people who attend is the emotional support it offers.
Patients love the atmosphere – Day Hospice is full of happiness, joy and laughter – they are with others who understand them, they can forget about their illness and simply socialise and be themselves, not have to be judged or have to explain themselves, and there is plenty of peer support making a huge difference to their mental health and wellbeing.
Coming to Day Hospice can also be a great gateway to other services the hospice can offer.
In 2020-2021, Day Hospice was open for seven out of the 12 months due to COVID. While closed, the staff were redeployed to support inpatients but continued to support day hospice patients via zoom and telephone calls.
With each lockdown, patients encountered a higher level of social isolation and we recognised the impact not attending Day Hospice had on patients’ psychological and physical health – mobility declined, they saw fluctuation in weight, loss of confidence, despair and depression.
Day Hospice was one of the first to open its doors in summer of 2020 and again in April 2021 once restrictions allowed.
The service is currently running at a reduced level.
- 11am to 2pm
- Takes up to 10 people (usually up to 20)
- 1 volunteer (usually 5 per day)
Patients have been delighted to be able to come back and we have been full to capacity since re-opening our doors, showing the need for the service.
The key objective is to be able to stay open for the whole year.
We would like to extend our reach and encourage referrals from GP surgeries and other local health professionals, ideally to offer our services to people earlier in their diagnosis.
At the end of life, patients are referred to the hospice who need palliative care and have a prognosis of less than 12 months. Patients can be referred for an inpatient bed whether that is for symptom management, carer support or end of life care. We have specialist community palliative care nurses who offer symptom control advice and end of life care within the three boroughs in the patient’s home.
If you would like to find out more about St Joseph’s Hospice services go to www.stjh.org.uk or call First Contact on 0300 30 30 400.
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