About Us
Compassionate Gateshead is a partnership between Edberts House (a community development charity) and the Palliative Care team at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Gateshead.
We recognise that care for people at end of life is not a task solely for health and social services. Most of the support for people who are dying is provided by family, friends or their wider community or connections who may feel they are not adequately trained, experienced or confident in dealing with death. People who are socially isolated are particularly vulnerable at this time and may rely heavily on professional health services that may not always be appropriate or easily accessible for them. Therefore, if we were all a little more connected, informed, aware or practiced in knowing how to help and who to access support from, small acts of kindness could make a big difference.
“When we talk about death,
we can bring compassion
to life”
This work is inspired by the work of the Compassionate Communities network and builds on work supporting people at end of life through a community link worker (employed by Edberts House and joint funded by Gateshead Health Charity and the Local Authority). This pilot project supports people under the care of the Specialist Palliative Care Team in Gateshead through a social prescribing model. Compassionate Gateshead reflects the NHS 10-year plan in action to shift the focus from hospital to community-based support through collaboration and shared resources.