A visit from our Patron

31st January, 2025

We were so proud to have had a visit from our Patron His Excellency, the Lieutenant-Governor, Lieutenant General Richard Cripwell CB, CBE last week.

After taking over Les Bourgs Hospice patronage from King Charles III last year His Excellency said of his Patronage “I’m delighted. His Majesty was the patron when he was the Prince of Wales, I know that he would have wanted to continue to be so, but simply wasn’t able to. To be asked to stand in his stead. I may well be his representative on the island, but this is a different thing, and I know how much he valued Les Bourgs. I know how much he appreciated the work that is done here, and I am genuinely honored to have a chance to follow Him as the patron and to do whatever I can to support.”

Our Teams at both the Charity Shop and Les Bourgs Hospice showed His Excellency around and explained about the work that we do.

His Excellency was shown around our ward by some of our nursing team and met with some patients.  They then went on to see our Catering Team and enjoyed some home baked goodies.  Our Bereavement services were explain to His Excellency and he spoke with the Hospice’s wider Administration, Fundraising and Estates teams, all who play an important part within the Life of Les Bourgs.

Our CEO Rob Jones was present for the tour and as His Excellency briefed the islands media, hearing exactly what impact the tour had made. “I felt a huge sense of pride, because you see a team that you work with on a daily basis through someone else’s eyes, and when you’ve got someone of his calibre who’s as complimentary about and as impressed as he has been, that means something. So (I’m) feeling very proud.”
“It’s the opportunity that we had to show our new patron what we’re about, and that extends from the charity shop, where we do a significant part of our fundraising, but not all of that through to the way we operate here at the hospice on the ward in particular, which is the most important part, and giving His Excellency an opportunity to meet the team and get a feel for the place and our culture and really what we’re up against.”

On ending his visit His Excellency remarked, “I think most Islanders are aware of Les Bourgs and are certainly very generous in their donations to the charity’s shop, as they are in their loyalty to it as shoppers. But you really need to visit Les Bourgs to experience the genuine warmth, compassion and dedication that run throughout this remarkable organisation, to talk to the staff who provide a level of care that is quite frankly extraordinary and who do so much to support the families that use the service. Having seen that first hand, I know that Guernsey has something very special in its hospice. That service and ethos are increasingly extending into the community. Death is not an event but a process, of which palliative care is a vital part. Having seen Les Bourgs for myself, I understand how fundamentally important this charity is to our community.”