What we do

We work to support people nearing the end of their life,
and those close to them

Our impact in 2022

Visitors Supported

Patients Supported

Hospital Visits

Our work includes:

Supporting healthcare organisations to set up and run teams of specialist volunteers who provide comfort and companionship to people in their final weeks and days of life, and emotional support to those close to them.
We work with NHS Hospitals, Community NHS Trusts and Hospices across the country.
We assist with sourcing funding for a dedicated Project Manager/Volunteer Coordinator, help with recruitment and once in post, we provide them with bespoke training and all associated documentation.
We are a one stop shop to help healthcare organisations get support to people who are dying as quickly and efficiently as possible.
We offer this support completely free of charge.
Enabling honest and open conversations about death and dying and the ways in which families can prepare for it, with the help of our online resources and My Wishes Checklist.
Delivering Simple Wisdom workshops to individuals, care home staff, carers organisations, corporate groups, HR teams and many more.

“There are so many quotes that talk of how, as the end of life approaches, we realise what really matters are people, not things. Interactions are the very essence of life. Supporting people to be prepared, and providing company to those facing the end of life is both a privilege and a demonstration of respect we owe each other. This work is the lifeblood of the Anne Robson Trust.”

Fiona McKenzie

Trustee

The first Butterfly (End of Life) volunteers

Butterfly Volunteers at The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust

In 2016 Liz was working at East & North Hertfordshire NHS Trust and was tasked with setting up the first team of end of life volunteers – known as Butterfly Volunteers. They supported staff on the wards, spending time with patients nearing the end of their life, especially those with few or no visitors.

The Butterfly Volunteers were well received by patients, visitors and importantly by hospital staff, so much so that Liz realised there was a bigger job to be done.

With the blessing of senior management from EnHerts, Liz went on to set up the Anne Robson Trust, in memory of her mother.

Liz was joined by Jo Corscaden, a member of the Butterfly Volunteer team and an ex-nurse and midwife, who took on the role as the first Butterfly Volunteer coordinator at The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust in Harlow. In setting up and running this maiden project, Liz and Jo recognised the importance of the wellbeing of both the coordinators and the volunteers – a topic that is highlighted in the training and support that we continue to provide.

We encourage open conversations

Through the Anne Robson Trust’s work with the hospital volunteers, we identified that end-of-life patients are not the only people who need help. There’s also a huge need for better support for those close to them – the family members and friends who are soon to be bereaved.

We often found we were hearing family members say how much they wished they’d talked about dying with their relative/friend before they became so ill. We know that having open and honest conversations about the end of life and what we wish to happen can help people prepare for death and feel fewer regrets after someone dies.

From this, we had the idea to create a My Wishes Checklist to help enable these difficult conversations.

Our Vision

To ensure every person receives the compassion, comfort, and companionship they wish for at the end of their life.

Our Mission

To empower individuals, families and carers to plan and receive support to prepare for their death.

“The charity, which has only been running for a few years, has established itself as one that provide the expectation of the highest standard of care. Within such a short space of time, it has a reputation for delivering on its promises”

Dr Peter Carter OBE

Patron

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