In March 2023, we were approached by an independent production company that was looking to make a programme about Princess Alice Hospice for BBC Radio 4, as part of their Illuminated series. Back then, the producer, Tim Moorhouse, was unsure about the particular aspect of hospice care he wanted to focus on, so we arranged for him to spend a day at the Hospice, where he met with various people to hear about the many areas of care we provide. In the end, he felt that hearing the experiences of young people undertaking volunteering on our Ward Support Volunteer programme would make for compelling radio. Tim hoped to explore the themes of death and dying through the lens of young people and to capture how their experiences of spending time with patients on our In-Patient Unit shaped their thoughts around these complex themes.

An evening of online interviews took place with a group of young people signed up for the next Ward Support Volunteer programme who were interested in participating in the radio programme. From there, Tim selected five to participate, one aged 19 years and the other four aged 17 years, with different educational backgrounds and career aspirations. As an organisation, we needed to be sure we were entirely comfortable with the level of privacy that Tim would guarantee to patients and families on the In-Patient Unit and it was agreed that no voice recordings of them would be made. We spent time talking to Tim about how the programme content would be gathered, so as not to impact on patients, families, visitors, staff or our volunteers unduly. We were impressed by, and grateful for, the professionalism and respect he showed throughout the entire process.

Over the course of their six-month volunteering programme, the young people were recorded while on the In-Patient Unit and in conversations after particular events that happened during their shifts. Ben and Farida were also recorded in planned conversations with two visitors to our Wellbeing Centre: out-patient visitor Daryl, and Chris, who cares for his wife, Sue, who has Huntington’s Disease.

The result is a half-hour radio programme called Lasting Lessons, which was broadcast on Radio 4 on Sunday 29 September at 7.15pm and is now available to listen to on BBC Sounds. Prior to the broadcast, Farida and Ben travelled to BBC Broadcasting House to speak about their experiences on The Today Programme. After it aired, it was also picked up by Radio 4’s Pick of the Week.

We were incredibly grateful to everybody involved in making the programme possible and are pleased that our young people gained so much from the experience. All five are now pursuing the next stages of their chosen career paths in healthcare, which include physiotherapy, Medicine and paramedics. We feel they have a bright future ahead of them.