Hospiscare and Budleigh Salterton & District Hospiscare have merged. Read the full story here.

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40 years of Hospiscare

40 years of Hospiscare

2022 marks Hospiscare's 40th anniversary. Join us to celebrate four decades of outstanding specialist care in our community.

From its beginnings as a specialist community nursing service for Exeter in 1982, Hospiscare has grown into a much-loved, award-winning hospice charity, caring for over 2,000 people living with life-limiting illnesses across Exeter, Mid and East Devon every year.

In our first year, 1982, we were a nursing team of just one, but the need for our care was great and by the end of that year the team had grown to three. Four decades on, our team of specialist nurses, doctors and therapists care for over 2,500 patients a year.

Our hospice was created by the community, for the community. Across four decades of our compassionate care, it is the local community – every donor, fundraiser, supporter and volunteer – to whom we owe a debt of gratitude for enabling our charity to provide its specialist services to all those in need, regardless of their circumstance.

“This special anniversary gives us an opportunity to celebrate 40 years of care in our community, to give thanks  for the generous support of so many local people and businesses, which over the decades has enabled the care of thousands of people facing terminal illnesses, and to renew our commitment to ensuring everyone in need in our community receives free and outstanding end-of-life care in the place of their choice. – Andrew Randall, CEO

The Hospiscare journey in film

Watch our 40th anniversary film to hear the story of Hospiscare’s beginnings, from those who were there.

Our timeline

Our history brought to life

Click the arrows in the images below to scroll through this selection of images from four decades of Hospiscare…

Our History

HospISCAre… What’s in a name?

Why Hospiscare? Why not Hospicecare? Or Hospice Care?  The reason for  the unusual spelling of our name lies in the original logo adopted at Hospiscare’s inception which emphasised the Isca bit of the name HospISCAre. Isca Dumnoniorum, of course, being the Roman name for Exeter. With the adoption of the newer Hospiscare logos, the original emphasis was lost. Yet the spelling has always stayed the same.

Support us for our 40th year

From participating in our weekly lottery to volunteering for us, from donating to our charity shops to taking on a sky dive or wing walk, it's the support and commitment of our local community that has enabled us to grow despite the ever-increasing costs of keeping our service free for the people of Exeter, Mid and East Devon, 365 days a year, 24 hours a day.