In partnership with Asthma + Lung UK, our Respiratory Practitioner and volunteers, run a social support group for anyone with a lung condition. Giving them a space to socialise and connect over common struggles.
The group has grown since September 2025 and we would like to say thank you to everyone who attends and supports to make this community group possible. There has been lot’s going on at the group recently:
Volunteer Heroes
The volunteers help support this group and without them this community group would not be possible. Anne, started volunteering for the group after attending our Breathlessness Management Programme at the Hospice and was recently successful in securing a grant of £5k for the group via a local pharma group based in Halton – well done!
Supporting the Hospice
Awareness of Halton Haven Hospice is created through this group and members support Halton Haven Hospice where they can, including a £100 donation from one member earlier this year.
Petra from Viridor Runcorn EFW visited Halton Haven A+LUK Support Group
“On Friday I had the pleasure of attending Halton Haven A+LUK in Runcorn, Merseyside. The group was established in September 2025 and is run by volunteers Anne and Elsie and supported by HCP Barbara. Together with support from Halton Haven Hospice they applied for funding to support their group from, Viridor Runcorn EFW. They were successful! Viridor representative Tom Armstrong came along to present a cheque for £5000. Everyone was thrilled and Anne, Elsie and Barbara are busy looking at how they can use the money to best support the group. It was a lovely meeting, with 2 new members joining. It’s been a brilliant start for the group and great to see that all the hard work from Anne, Elsie, Barbara and Jacqueline from Halton Haven Hospice has paid off. Thanks for inviting me!“
The group meets every second Friday of the month, 11:45am to 1:45pm at Murdishaw Community Centre, Barnfield Avenue, Runcorn WA7 6JW. If you think this group is for you, please do pop along and say hello!
This week marks an exciting step forward for Halton Haven Hospice as we officially go live with Electronic Prescribing and Medicines Administration (EPMA). Moving from paper-based systems to a fully digital prescribing platform is a significant achievement that strengthens the safety, efficiency, and consistency of the care we provide.
EPMA enables clearer prescribing, reduces errors, improves communication between clinical teams, and ensures real-time access to medication information at the point of care. For our Hospice, this transition supports our ongoing commitment to delivering high-quality, patient‑centred care while embracing digital transformation that future‑proofs our services.
“This milestone reflects the hard work, adaptability, and collaboration of our teams. Thank you to everyone involved in making this positive change a reality.” Clinical Director
We are constantly striving to improve our services to ensure we are providing the best palliative and end of life care. One of the ways we can do this is by listening and adapting to patient and family feedback. Your feedback helps to shape care for others, you can complete our Service User Survey HERE.
As Halton Haven Hospice looks towards the future, we see exciting changes that will support us to continue providing the best palliative care within our community.
To ensure we continue to provide compassion, care, and comfort we welcome with open arms our new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Karen Allen, who’s vision for the Hospice is clear – To ensure we continue to learn and grow to help add life to days, with kindness and expertise.
Karen has been a part of Halton Haven Hospice since September 2023, joining as Director of Care & Operational Services, a leader with over 25 years of healthcare experience. Her background serves as a perfect backdrop to lead and inspire the Hospice through positive changes.
Stepping into her new role she shares the below statement:
As I step into the role of CEO at Halton Haven Hospice, I do so with a deep sense of humility and a profound sense of responsibility.
Hospice care is not about giving up. It is about showing up, with compassion, dignity, expertise, and unwavering support during some of life’s most sacred moments. It is about ensuring that no one walks their final journey alone, and that families are held with care long after they say goodbye.
As I begin this chapter, I want to first honour the extraordinary team who make this mission possible every single day. Our staff and volunteers are the heart of all that we do. Skilled and compassionate, they create comfort where there is fear, peace where there is uncertainty, and connection when it matters most.
To the families who have trusted us: thank you. It is a privilege to care for your loved ones. Your stories shape us. Your courage inspires us. Your feedback will continue to guide us.
As CEO, my commitment is clear:
• We will lead with compassion and integrity. • We will prioritize clinical excellence and continuous learning. • We will listen — to our patients, families, staff, and community. • We will advocate for greater awareness and access to hospice care.
Halton Haven is about living fully, with dignity, comfort, and meaning. Together, we will continue to build a culture where every life is honoured, every voice is heard, and every moment matters.
I am honoured to serve alongside you and excited for what we will accomplish together.
With gratitude and purpose,
Karen Allen Chief Executive Officer Halton Haven Hospice
We are excited for the new chapter Karen is leading the Hospice on, and we hope you can join us for the journey.
Want to be kept up to date with news and updates about Halton Haven Hospice? Sign up for our updates HERE.
Every year we partner with JustHelping to collect and recycle Christmas trees to help raise vital funds for our Hospice.
For the last few weeks, volunteers have been clocking up the miles collecting 824 trees from households that have generously donated. We are pleased to say the last 2 were collected this morning!
This wouldn’t have been possible without the incredible support we received from our local community. Support came from many wonderful individuals, as well as companies including; Amazon, Halton Housing, Onward Homes, Plus Dane Housing, Treebor Tree Services, Bellway Homes and Vale Community Church.
Due to the amazing generosity and support we received the 2025 collection raised £16,662! This is an incredible amount which will go towards delivering the highest standard of palliative care to the people of Halton, helping us truly add life to days.Thank you so much to everyone involved.
Our annual Santa Dash brought hundreds together this festive season to help raise money for Halton Haven Hospice and spread a little festive cheer.
On the 14th of December 2025, 475 people put on their Santa hats, braved the cold and wet December weather, and ran our 3km fun run, helping to raise an incredible £17,258!
It felt like a sprinkle of Christmas magic watching everyone boogie to Christmas songs during the warm up, flood the Silver Jubilee Bridge in a sea of red hats, and cross the finish line with smiles and the sound of the silver band playing.
“Santa Dash 2025 was our biggest and best yet, and we are so grateful to everyone who took part, volunteered, sponsored, and supported the event. Seeing hundreds of Santa’s bringing festive cheer across the Silver Jubilee Bridge was truly special, and the amazing amount raised will help us continue providing vital care and support to local people and their families. Thank you to our incredible community for making this event so magical.” – Tina, Fundraising Manager.
Scroll for Santa Dash 2025 photos
All photos from the event will be shared via a Facebook album.
This event wouldn’t have been possible without the support from many within the Halton community, including our kind sponsors and supporters Merseyflow who’s ongoing support has helped Santa Dash year on year. We would also like to thank; Sprakes Transport Services for providing the stage, Pure Gym for the warm-up, John Bostock for hosting, Anthony’s Travel for transporting Santas back to the start area and Halton Borough Council for their continued support with the Silver Jubilee Bridge closure. We’re also incredibly grateful to our amazing team of volunteers on the day, including our Patron Paul O’Neill and Moore Camera Club.
Do you want to take part next year? Put the 13th of December 2026 in your calendar and keep an eye out for sign up details closer to the time.
On the 7th of December, hundreds of people from the Halton community braved the wet and very windy weather to attend our annual Light Up A Life event.
With over 500 visitors, the event was a huge success. Not only raising vital funds for the Hospice, but also in bringing people together to remember and celebrate loved ones, getting into the festive spirit.
Light Up a Life couldn’t be possible without the incredible support of the Halton community. On the night we had 12 Christmas stalls, 25 volunteers, beautiful live music from The Good Biscuits, Frodsham Silver Band, and Murdishaw Primary School Choir, as well as support from local musician John Bostock.
Special guests like Cllr Martha Lloyd Jones, Mayor of Halton, also attended, but it was one of our patients who made the night extra special. Alina, aged 32, a patient at Halton Haven Hospice helped switch on our Christmas Tree lights during the event.
Picture from left to right: Interim CEO Karen Allen, Cllr Martha Lloyd Jones (Mayor of Halton), Alina, Peter (Mayor Consort)
Alina says “They told me about the Light Up A Life event on the 7th of December, at first I thought they were joking when they said ‘you’re turning on the lights’ and I was thinking why me? Then I noticed they weren’t joking and I said yes. First of all, if not now, when? I wanted to challenge myself, I wanted to try and then I slowly started to prepare my outfit and my makeup. Dorina my sister helped me a lot as I had been struggling with the dresses. I was a little bit anxious and overthinking but in the end, everything went nice and smooth. That evening was special for me because I have always wanted to go to Liverpool Christmas markets, but I am too sick, so instead we have a market here where you can shop. What I like is that all the money made at the event comes in as a donation, so you aren’t spending money for nothing, you are supporting the Hospice which is really important to me.”
At Light Up A Life, Alina was one of our very important guests, sitting right next to the Mayor of Halton. When speaking with her she laughs about how nervous she was about meeting the Mayor. “I didn’t know the Mayor would be there and we would be together pressing the button up on the stage. At first I was like ‘OMG I don’t even know who our mayor is. I need to google what she looks like.’ I was worried I was talking with her saying ‘I’m waiting for the mayor’ and her saying ‘I am the mayor.’
It was an honour for me to sit up on that stage. There was the Interim CEO, then me, then the Mayor, so it was like a royal family. It was an official event where I was involved like a super star. The hospice gave me this opportunity to forget I was a patient.
Dorina, Alinas’ sister, adds “– It was nice to see her dressed so well, smiling, sitting next to important people. It was very nice seeing her on a special stage, with special people and she was very special in that moment pressing the button. I was joking with her beforehand saying ‘don’t turn off all the lights for Runcorn when you press the button’, so I was making some jokes to help make her less anxious.”
It was amazing to see people from our community, of all ages, coming together to enjoy music, festive food and celebrate loved ones. From children getting their face painted to adults trying to win their favourite festive tipple on our bottle tombola, joy (and a little rain) was present in every moment of this year’s Light Up A Life.
Alina finishes by saying “What I like is that you feel that all the people, all guests, and residents who came to Light Up A Life came because they want to support. You feel that for other people this place is very important as well. You’re not just going to the city centre and doing shopping, you feel like this place – even for other people who are not patients- is unique, that’s what I really experienced. You don’t know these people, but they support you, you feel like you are part of the community. This was a community event.”
Thank you so much to everyone who came along on the night or made a donation this year, you helped to make this year’s Light Up A Life extra special. Together we raised over £20,000 for Halton Haven Hospice. We hope you can all join us again in 2026 and hopefully we can get some dry weather next year!
Halton Haven Hospice isn’t what you think – it’s a place full of life. However we believe it is important that people have open and honest conversations around death, dying, and hospice care to help tackle the taboo around the subject, and support individuals and families having these conversations. In ‘The Little Hospice Podcast’ we speak to a range of people about their experiences to help open up these conversations.
Today we have launched with our first episode, speaking with our Patron Paul O’Neill. Paul has been a long-time supporter of Halton Haven Hospice after we cared for his brother. In this episode Paul talks about his connection with our Hospice, conversations he has had around dying and his fundraising for the Hospice.
We will be releasing an episode a month. To watch each episode click HERE, search for ‘The Little Hospice Podcast’ on Spotify or on your favourite listening service.
We are really excited to announce that we will be renovating our patient and family lounge here at Halton Haven Hospice this winter.
Below is our current patient and family lounge. We know this space could be so much more welcoming and relaxing for patients and their families, contributing to their overall experience at the Hospice.
Due to the amazing support of Halton Housing, tradesmen and grants this space is being transformed to provide a little sanctuary for patients and their family members from children to adults. Lot’s of work has been going on behind the scenes to make sure the renovation goes smoothly and we have everything we need to create an amazing space:
Patient care has been our top priority and plans have been put in place to ensure every patient still receives the care they deserve during this time.
Thank you to everyone who has bought a gift from our Amazon Wish List to help create a safe and playful space for children who are visiting the Hospice.
Thank you to everyone who is dedicating their time and/or resources for this renovation. If you think you can offer support with skills or materials, please let us know by calling 01928 712 728.
Due to the works happening between 15th till 29th December, we do ask that if you are dropping anything off at the Hospice that you come straight to reception, between 9am and 5pm, Mon-Fri. This is to ensure your safety as work is happening and to make sure someone is available to greet you. Our phone lines will be monitored daily. If you need to contact us please call 01928 712 728.
We are so excited for the difference this will make to our patient and family experience going into 2026 and we hope you can join us in our excitement. We will be keeping you updated with the renovations via social media, so keep your eyes peeled. In 2026, we hope to invite you all in to see the space!
