Overgate Hospice

Overgate Hospice is a hospice and charity in Elland, West Yorkshire, England. It provides palliative care for the people of Calderdale.

History
In the 1970s two Calderdale doctors, Drs Brian Quinn and Geoffrey Hyman created a charitable trust called the Calderdale Society for Continuing Care to establish a nursing home for palliative care. Initially they planned to convert and old convent in Boothtown; however this and other sites failed to materialised. Slyvia Graucob — the wife of Find Graucob, a Elland-based fire extinguisher manufacturer — had purchase their old Elland home, Overgate and the adjoining property Hazeldene after her husband's death and donated the property to the charitable trust as a location for the hospice. Funds required to convert the property and for running costs for the first year was then raised by public donations, the local health authority, and a loan from Halifax League of Friends. The hospice was opened in September 1981 with facility for eight beds.

In 1994, a new purpose-built in-patient unit was added to the hospice, increasing the number of beds to 12. The hospice opened a day hospice for 5 days a week in 1995, which was initially in the original Overgate building.

The day hospice was moved to a purpose-built space in 2005, which was extended in 2011.

In April 2024, the hospice launched its Big Build Appeal to raise fundings for a new hospice facility, extending its current capabilities. The hospice has generated GB£9700000 of the required total, including funding from the Wolfson Foundation and is hoping to raise a total of GB£12500000 with the appeal.

Fund raising
Fund raising to maintain the hospice is provided by public donations, fund-raising events, through the hospice's own choir, charitable foundation grants, a weekly lottery and 16 charity shops throughout Calderdale.

Overgate Hospice Choir
The Overgate Hospice Choir was formed in 1991 initially to perform Joseph Haydn's choral work, The Creation as part of a National Voices for Hospices event. The choir continues today, with 65 voices performing four concerts a year.

Charity shops
The hospice maintains a network of 16 charity shops and a distribution centre throughout Calderdale to support its fund-raising efforts. The hospice's first charity shop was opened in Hebden Bridge in 1994. The shops are located in Brighouse (four shops including a designer boutique, children's shop and furniture shop), Elland (two shops including a children's shop), Halifax, Hebden Bridge (furniture shop), Hipperholme, Illingworth, King Cross, Ovenden, Sowerby Bridge (two shops including a children's shop), Todmorden and West Vale.

Administration
In 1994 the hospice trustees appointed its first full-time administrator, Norman Witter. The hospice is governed by a board of trustees, as of 2024 it is maintained by 12 trustees.

In 1994 the hospice cost GB£325000 to run. In 2019, total expenditure was GB£4250000, with total income of GB£4420000. In 2023 the income of the hospice was GB£6800000 with an expenditure of GB£5920000.