Throughout our history we have been a leading voice in palliative care and end of life care. When Harlington Hospice was first started by Mary Hopkins MBE and Reg Hopkins in the south of Hillingdon it was in recognition of the lack of end of life care available to people in the local community. And stood as a place of care, support, and knowledge. As it continues to be today.

Our Clinical Team at Michael Sobell House are also instrumental in furthering knowledge about palliative care and end of life care. As a member of Hospice UK’s Project ECHO we have worked with London Ambulance Service paramedics. And our Medical Director, Dr Ros Taylor MBE, and Senior Nurse, Jo Fernandes, regularly share their knowledge and expertise with other hospices and healthcare professionals. Dr Ros Taylor MBE also worked as a Commissioner on the Lancet Commission on the Value of Death, setting out a new vision of death and dying and the principles to achieve it.

We are a key member of many of the collaborative healthcare boards that exist in Hillingdon and North West London. Including H4All and Third Sector Together.

Our Child & Adolescent Bereavement Service (CABS) Team have been undertaking an extensive research project on Neurodiversity and Grief. Working with therapists across the country, they have identified current barriers and challenges and provide psychoeducation to schools, social services, and other professionals working with young people. This is an ongoing and developing project.

We also worked closely with Crown Princess Katherine of Serbia to establish the first palliative care center in Serbia, Princess Katherine Palliative care center Knez Selo, which opened in 2013. With Dr Elaine Laycock, one of our first doctors at Michael Sobell House (formerly Michael Sobell Hospice), and other members of our clinical team, visiting Serbia on several occasions to help train the first palliative care medical team in the country.