Alison has been awarded the honour of the British Empire Medal for Services to Palliative Care. Alison worked in end-of-life and palliative care for 33 years and led this vital local charity as St Wilfrid’s Hospice Chief Executive after joining as Director of Nursing in October 1997.

Alison led transformative change and growth to improve end-of-life care for the people of Sussex and Hampshire and notably was instrumental in the funding and building of the new Hospice facility in Bosham.

Alison said “I was so shocked and delighted to receive the news of my award. I continue to be enormously proud of the incredible care and support given to people by the team at St Wilfrid’s and this award is a tribute to the many staff, volunteers and Trustees who I had the privilege of working alongside. I’m also so grateful to the patients and their loved ones who over the years taught me so much, and to my family for their support and encouragement.”

Alison’s experience was summed up upon her retirement in 2023 in this article where she shared five lessons about death and dying.

As an independent charity, St Wilfrid’s continue to care for people in the local community who need vital hospice services. Over the last year, St Wilfrid’s Hospice had an average of 343 patients on their case load at any time. The Hospice received over 1000 patient care referrals in their last financial year, while at the same time making over 5,000 contacts to patients and loved ones thanks to their Family Services Team.

St Wilfrid’s Hospice relies on government grants and funding from the local community to run these vital services. Only 17% of St Wilfrid’s costs are covered by a grant received by the NHS, less than the national average of 30% received by other hospices. The rest of the £9million it takes to run your local charity hospice needs to be raised by the local community.