Lancaster St John's Hospice in talks with China

The Slyne Road hospice want to twin with one of the hospices in Beijing to mark their special anniversary.

Staff are keeping their fingers crossed for the deal which would signify a global movement for the hospice.

The hospice was officially opened on January 8 1986 by Princess Alexandra – and the year is being marked in numerous ways by staff and supporters.

One of the fundraising activities includes a Great Wall of China trek in September, when staff hope the twinning can be made.

The twinning between the two hospice’s is still under negotiation.

Chief executive at Lancaster St John’s Hospice, Sue McGraw, said it would be hugely positive for the charity and community.

She said: “One of our trustees works out in Hong Kong so she is in talks with them at the moment, we are really hoping we can make it happen.

“It would signify the hospice movement is being felt and heard all over the world. It is such a universal issue, everybody is born and everybody dies, it’s the way we care for our society in the final moments.

“It would be the first time the hospice has twinned with another organisation internationally, we think there is lots to learn, to see how different cultures do the same methods.

“The Chinese society have been great and are keen for us to make that connection. It feels like something very positive after the flooding, it feels like a great thing to do.”

The Lancaster Guardian teamed up with sister paper the Visitor in 2013 to fundraise for the hospice in a bid to help secure its future of providing a vital community service that helps people and their families deal with life-limiting conditions.