The story of how Willowbrook Hospice was born

Raising funds actually began back in 1990; when a local group realised that the local area would benefit from a hospice. In 1991, a Steering Committee was formed with Lady Kirsty Pilkington as Chairman and Anthony Richards from the Community Health Council as Secretary.

Plot of land

St Helens Council donated a plot of land on Portico Lane to the St Helens and Knowsley Hospice Appeal in 1992 and from this point on serious fundraising began.

The Steering Committee and many dedicated people worked tirelessly to raise the £1.8 million needed to build the hospice.

Coffee mornings, collection boxes, cake sales and dinner dances were organised; a shop was opened and a Lottery launched.

Willowbrook’s very first employee was appointed in 1994: Mr Les Johnston as Director of Fundraising. A thermometer outside the Town Hall showed how the funds were growing, and by 1995 over a million pounds had been raised.

Lady Kirsty leading the fundraising appeal at Willowbrook

Willowbrook Hospice

The hospice subsequently renamed as ‘Willowbrook Hospice’ opened in 1997 and fundraising has continued to be an integral part of Willowbrook. Today, it costs approximately £5m each year to deliver all our hospice services for a year; over £13,000 per day.

Although we receive just under a 1/3 of our money from the NHS, we still need to rely heavily on our community who support us through using our shops, entering our lottery and taking part in our varied events and appeals.

Amazing volunteers

Of course, none of what we do would be possible if it wasn’t for our amazing volunteers who support us by ‘plugging the gaps’ and staffing our receptions, our shops and clinical services to help make sure we can run our services and many events throughout each year.

We are always thankful that our community of volunteers and supporters recognise the needs of people across St Helens and Knowsley, making sure that we can deliver all our much-needed specialist palliative services, free of charge to all those who need our care.

Lady Kirsty

Lady Kirsty Pilkington shared some key memories of those early days:

“In 1989, I was asked to join with a group of health professionals whose aim was to assess the need for a hospice, providing skilled nursing care to the people living in St Helens and Knowsley. By 1992 with the need recognised, the challenge to raise £1.8 million began with the appeal launched on the 1st September 1992.

From that moment to the present day, there have been countless memorable occasions: one such occasion took place on the 11th February 1995: many people gathered in Church Square, St Helens to mark the moment when the appeal fund reached £1 million.

On the day, identical twins, Joanne and Louise Watkinson aged 11 years, each handed a £1 coin to the Mayors of St Helens and Knowsley.

One coin symbolised the £1 million already collected and the other symbolised the first £ of the next £800,000 needed to finish the build and equip the hospice.

Another exciting event happened in 1996: St Helens Council donated land on the border between Knowsley and St Helens and as a patron of the hospice appeal, Lord Derby agreed to officially cut the first sod. Cheekily, two enthusiastic volunteers had already cut the first sod earlier in the day!

In 1997 there was an enormous sense of pride amongst all those people involved when the Hospice opened its doors to the first day patient.

This was followed by an occasion that no-one who was there will forget: on Tuesday 19th May 1999, Her Royal Highness Princess Alexandra formally opened what was now named Willowbrook. She enjoyed a tour of the hospice and in each room, she was introduced to a member of staff and near the end of her visit she sat with one or two of the patients.

The delight showing on the face of one lady as she chatted to HRH was a joy to see; a very emotional few minutes. In 2009, Her Royal Highness came again to open the Outpatient Suite; another wonderful day for everyone.