Supporting care and compassion at the end of life
With your help we can ease suffering and provide comfort
We fund practical assistance for people who are in the care of Purbeck Primary Care Network
Getting Involved
To us – it’s personal
What we do
We are a small charity working in Purbeck to help people who are terminally ill. We fund practical assistance for people who are in the care of Purbeck Primary Care Network and have been identified by their staff or other healthcare professionals as needing items, services or facilities to ease their suffering and provide comfort. If these things are not normally provided by the statutory authorities, the healthcare professional can approach us for assistance.
Why we do this
Allison lived in Wareham for over 20 years and loved the Purbeck area. She was very much loved by her family and friends and when she died in 2021 we decided to establish this Trust in her memory.
Allison was cared for by her husband supported by the local community nurses and carers in her final illness, and she was very grateful for the kindness and humanity with which they looked after her. It made a great deal of difference to her quality of life in the last months, and we saw how important it is to give a terminally ill person not only professional care, but the less obvious things that can make all the difference to their comfort and dignity.
JANE LEWIS – SECRETARY
My first jobs were in admin, and I retrained in 1997 as an English Teacher. I taught for around 11 years at the Purbeck school in Wareham till retiring in 2014. Since then, I’ve done assessment work for one of the major exam boards, marking A level papers and supervising speaking exams locally. In my spare time, I enjoy reading, listening to music, cooking, travel, socialising, swimming and running.
I have lived in Wareham since 1999, having moved here from South London. One of the first things about Purbeck that struck me was the warmth and closeness of the local community – and one of the first people I happened to meet, who really embodied this spirit, was Allison Campbell.
Over the years our friendship developed; she was a wonderful person, full of love, generosity and fun. I was incredibly honoured when Alli’s husband, Dave, and her sister, Shona asked whether I’d be interested in being involved in setting up a local charity in Allison’s memory. I was delighted to accept, and after a few meetings and discussions with Dave and Shona, together with representatives of the District Nursing team, we set up Allison Campbell Trust (ACT). Although it was with some trepidation that I took on the role of Treasurer for the charity, I realised that it would represent an excellent chance to learn new skills such as working with spreadsheets, grappling with the complex issues of gift aid and setting up bank accounts – definitely pushing me into new areas of knowledge.
As ACT moves into its active phase of achieving its aims of working with District Nurses and Community Support workers in providing comfort to people in Purbeck who choose to die at home, I feel very excited about increasing the sphere of assistance we can provide – and becoming involved in ever more ambitious fund-raising projects.
HELEN CASEY – TREASURER/TRUSTEE
I was brought up locally and started my working life at Daler Board Ltd on Westminster Road before working for other local businesses. For the last 9 years I have worked for Howdens in Wareham, supporting local trades people.
When I was first introduced to Alli, her vibrant, fun-loving and mischievous personality was evident. Needless to say, we became friends instantly; a friendship that spanned over 20 years, before, latterly becoming sisters-in-law. Alli was always there for me; generous with her friendship and guidance in many aspects of my life.
I have been fund-raising for the Allison Campbell Trust (ACT) since its inception, so was privileged when asked to become more involved with the charity, taking on the role of Treasurer and Trustee. Many, many thanks go to Jane Lewis, not only for her support and guidance in my first few days and weeks as Trustee but also for her dedication to ACT, playing a pivotal role in the Charity’s inauguration.
I am excited to be supporting ACT in their ultimate aim of improving the quality of end-of-life care of local people who have chosen to remain at home in the final stages of their life.
DAVE NOLAN
Allison was a fun-loving wife and truly inspirational in many ways, just oozing positivity wherever she went.
The Allison Campbell Trust has been set up in her memory to support end of life care in our community.
I have lived and worked in the Purbeck area for most of my life working for BT as a technician before setting up Datec Communications in 1990.
I enjoy sports and travel and have a keen interest in our local community.
Putting fun into fundraising and delivering support to those in need are the objectives of ACT.
We can fund, for example:
Personal Care
Items that help with comfort and dignity, for example for personal care
Environmental
A trip out to boost morale
A few luxuries
Small luxuries to improve the quality of life – a box of chocolates or a manicure, for instance
Allison was a warm and caring person who had a strong sense of compassion and fairness. We know how much she appreciated her community nurses and carers, and we believe she would want us to help other people in her position just as she would have done. Allison was a positive person and a bringer of sunshine, so in her name and in her memory we want to spread the sunshine where we can.
What Drives Us
Our Mission
Our mission is simple – to help to make the last few days or weeks of someone’s life as comfortable and dignified as it can be. We aim to help support local people in Purbeck who choose to die at home by providing things that the NHS isn’t able to fund.
These items could be small – like shampoo caps that people who are confined to bed can use to ‘wash’ their hair and feel refreshed – or large, for instance bladder scanners (costing around £6,000) so that the Purbeck Primary Care Network can be supplied with more than one across the whole of the area. ACT can also assist with funding of end of life care training, typically provided by local hospices.
ACT exists to fund such items that the NHS currently isn’t able to finance, meaning that sometimes patients dying at home go without those things that can make a real difference to their comfort and dignity; and to support the quality of care provided to patients by helping fund community nurses and support workers to access focused training on end of life care at home.
Through the Primary Care team, ACT can be approached via a very simple referral system for assistance on a case-by-case basis and can order and supply the items desired very quickly.