Our History
Dorothy JamesonSt Oswald's Hospice was founded in the early 1970's by Dorothy Jameson, a local lady who felt that North East people, facing terminal illness, ought to receive the same type of care and support offered by St Christopher's Hospice in London, where her daughter was working.
So, she set about talking to friends and members of the local church, as well as groups within the business, legal and medical professions - spreading the idea of a local hospice, encouraging them to get involved, share the vision and ensure her plans came to fruition.
Dorothy then organised a ten-man committee, responsible for finding a suitable site, appointing an architect and registering as a charity and limited company. In 1982, the committee launched an appeal to raise £2 million to build and run a local hospice. North East people gave their whole-hearted support to the project and we opened our doors in July 1986.
Although Dorothy sadly died over ten years ago, her legacy lived on through her son, Tony, who was Chairman of St Oswald's up until June 2007.
There have been many changes since we opened in 1986 - most notably the addition of a purpose-built Day Services wing in 1997 and the opening of our Coleman Education Centre, a year later.
In 2003, we opened a purpose built children's service – where children from birth to 18 can come for a specialist short break.