Published on: Friday 19 Jun 2015 at 11:42
We have lent our support to Hospice UK’s #notdingy campaign after hospices were described as ‘dingy’ and ‘grotty’ in recent episodes of EastEnders and Casualty.
In response, a growing number of hospices across the country have been Tweeting photos of the bright, modern therapeutic facilities in which their skilled and compassionate specialist care is provided to people with terminal or life-limiting illnesses and their families using the #notdingy hashtag.
“What can I say? Better than a 5-star hotel…no, 7-star!” – St Clare patient
St Clare’s director of patient care Beth Burton said: “One of the biggest challenges we face in raising awareness of the help we can provide to those living with a life-limiting illness is changing people’s perceptions of hospices and hospice care.
“The sad truth is these perceptions can prevent people accessing the specialist care and support St Clare offers, when the reality is that the Hospice is bright and welcoming, where our passion to improve the lives of those affected by a terminal diagnosis lies at the heart of all we do.
“Last year’s major Space to Breathe refurbishment here at St Clare transformed our Day Therapy and family facilities into inspiring and revitalizing areas which have enhanced the Hospice environment and also complemented previous renovation work in our Inpatient Unit.
“We so often get extremely positive feedback from our patients and visitors praising the Hospice as a home away from home, and we hope by supporting Hospice UK’s #notdingy campaign we can show just what an inspiring and uplifting place St Clare is.”
“Driving into the Hospice grounds is what I reckon paradise would be like” – St Clare patient
Jonathan Ellis, director of policy and advocacy at Hospice UK, said: “We are disappointed with the negative references to hospices in both EastEnders and Casualty as ‘grotty’ or ‘dingy’. We have raised this with the BBC directly as it is worlds away from the reality of modern hospice care.
“We decided to challenge this on social media and encourage hospices to post photos of what hospices are actually like. What we want to get across is that even if you live in Walford or Holby, your local hospice is likely to be an amazing place with high quality facilities and dedicated staff and volunteers.
“We’ve been delighted by the response from local hospices. Quite rightly, many of them feel strongly about this and are very proud of the services they offer and the tremendous difference they make in their local community.”
You can support the #notdingy campaign by posting your comments on our Facebook page at or Tweeting us @hospicestclare.