Worcester Family Donate Substantial Sum to St Richard’s Hospice

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12 May 2024

The family of the late John Higgins have generously donated £10,400 to St Richard’s Hospice in Worcester in recognition of all the care and support they provided to their late father during his terminal illness.

Prior to the start of the COVID pandemic John started to struggle with noticeable shortness of breath which had a significant impact on his daily routine and activities. He found it more difficult to use the stairs and he had to avoid standing for long periods. Eventually it got to the stage where John needed significant care from his wife, Mary.

Unfortunately this coincided with the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020. Lockdown and restrictions meant it was difficult for John’s family to provide support as they normally would have done.

By August 2020 John was persuaded to go to hospital. Following investigations John was sadly diagnosed with mesothelioma which came as a massive shock to the whole family.

Mesothelioma is a cancer of the lining of the lung almost always caused by exposure to asbestos dust which often occurs decades earlier. 

Following the diagnosis John’s condition deteriorated and in November 2020 he was admitted to St Richard’s Hospice. John’s wife, Mary, and his family were able to visit John most days. John sadly died in December 2020.

St Richard’s Hospice provided vital support to John whilst he was at home and admitted to the hospice. They made John’s last few weeks as comfortable as they could have been in the circumstances. At the same time the hospice, compassionately and with care, supported his family with visiting their dying father whilst the country was in lockdown.

Tragically, Mary also passed away the following year after a sudden deterioration in her own health and their children lost both their mum and dad in a short period of time.

John’s family instructed The Asbestos Law Partnership to investigate a claim for John’s death due to mesothelioma.

After speaking to several co-workers it became clear John was exposed asbestos dust while employed by The Metal Box Company Limited in Perrywood Walk, Worcester where he had worked for over 30 years.

A claim against the company was successfully settled in 2023. John’s family claimed and recovered the costs incurred by St Richard’s Hospice in caring for their late father and generously donated this sum to the hospice.

Tricia Cavell, Fundraising Director at St Richard’s Hospice, said:

“We are proud to provide our care free-of-charge to patients and families, thanks to the incredible generosity of our supporters. We are extremely grateful to the Higgins family for this gesture in memory of their father, John, who was cared for by St Richard’s at home and in our In-patient Unit. It is only thanks to the support of our community that we can continue to raise the funds needed to be there for patients and their loved ones into the future.”

John’s son Haydon said:

“We as a family would like to say a massive ‘Thank You’ to everyone from St Richard’s Hospice involved in Dad’s care after such a devastating diagnosis. from the initial respite care for Mum, which allowed her some time-out for herself whilst safe in the knowledge Dad was being well looked after at home to the End of Life team at the hospice who cared for Dad in such trying circumstances during the COVID lockdown, we have much admiration for the work they do and are glad we could offer this donation. 

We would also like to thank Helen Neal from Asbestos Support Central England, a small and little-known charity, who do amazing work for asbestos related illness sufferers. They initially secured additional funding for Dad’s day-to-day care costs and a Blue Badge. They also gave us details of specialist solicitors that dealt with claims against employers that have been negligent in protecting employees from the devastating effects of exposure to asbestos. Of these we chose The Asbestos Law Partnership.

Fozia Hussain from The Asbestos Law Partnership was tenacious and able to trace dad’s previous employer and secure a settlement from them. From this we were able to make donations to St Richard’s Hospice and ASCE with additional Gift Aid.”

John’s family hope this donation will raise awareness of the good work the hospice do and encourage other mesothelioma sufferers and their families to claim the costs that hospices incur in their legal claims.

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