Dougie Mac Hospice celebrates 50 years in Stoke-on-Trent

Dougie Mac provides specialist care to those with life-limiting conditions

A charity that has supported countless families through life-limiting illness is celebrating its 50th anniversary.

The Douglas Macmillan Hospice, or Dougie Mac, offers specialist care and support to children and adults in Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire.

Since launching in 1973, the charity's staff and volunteers have helped thousands of patients and families.

Its CEO David Webster said the generosity and kindness from local people was "astonishing".

He told BBC Radio Stoke the "amazing" support and fundraising efforts from the community had enabled them to survive for 50 years as a charity.

"I never cease to be amazed at the lengths people are prepared to go to to support our hospice," he said.

"Lots of people have said Stoke-on-Trent is really lucky to have Dougie Mac - and my response is Dougie Mac is really lucky to have Stoke-on-Trent."

'Extraordinary resilience'

Named after the founder of Macmillan Cancer Support, the hospice was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II's cousin, Princess Alexandra, on 14 February 1973.

It is currently based across two sites in Blurton and Trentham and has 20 charity shops across Staffordshire since opening its first in Hanley in 1994.

CEO David Webster said the charity wanted to thank the Staffordshire community for its support

The independent charity, which offers a free-of-charge service, began as a place to offer palliative care to cancer patients but expanded to support those with life-limiting illnesses or conditions, including advanced heart failure and dementia, in 2004.

Mr Webster said staff had helped so many families by doing their jobs and that the end-of-life care provided had taken an "extraordinary resilience".

He added that the hospice cares for 600 people each year in its in-patient unit and thousands in the community within their homes, as well as offering access to a gym and complimentary therapies and physiotherapy.

"It's about treating people as individuals," Mr Webster explained.

He said the charity wanted to thank the community for all its support over the years.

"This is about celebrating, this is about saying 50 years on this turf, we're growing and we're expanding and we're moving forward and we need local support to do that.

"We just want to say thanks. We are so grateful for the position we find ourselves in and the impact we've been able to have."