Going for gold on BBC Radio Sussex

On Friday, 31 January, Olympic gold medallist Sally Gunnell guest-edited the morning show on BBC Radio Sussex. As Vice President of St Barnabas, she invited Deputy CEO, Becki Jupp to join her at the studio and discuss the difficulties of hospice funding. 

During an interview with radio host Sarah Gorrell, Becki highlighted the significant funding challenges faced by hospices. Noting that the cost of providing all care services at St Barnabas House is over £10m a year, with only 22% of this coming from government. 

She also emphasised the importance of community support saying: “It is a community effort, and we couldn’t exist without the community around us, we have many people that give to our hospices because they, or loved ones, have experienced the care.   

Once the interview ended, the radio station invited listeners to share what hospice care means to them. Colin from Worthing called in to share his experience. He lost his wife five years ago after she was diagnosed with a brain tumour in 2019. She received end-of-life care from St Barnabas House, and both Colin and his son received support from the hospice. 

Colin talked about the benefits of counselling once his wife passed away: “St Barnabas stayed in contact with us for over a year, checking up on how we were, and there were some counselling courses we went on – my son and myself.  

He added: “It was absolutely brilliant care. Counsellors really do know what to say…. they were there for us all the time, St Barnabas.” 

He then went on to discuss the benefits of counselling and coming to terms with grief, even five years later, and reflected on the quality time he shared with his wife whilst she was being cared for at the hospice. 

The team at St Barnabas would like to express their gratitude to Sally Gunnell for including them in her curated show. These opportunities are crucial for raising awareness about their work and they are grateful for her support. 

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