St Christopher’s was delighted to welcome Rt. Hon Ellie Reeves MP to the hospice in Sydenham on Friday 17 October 2025.
Ms Reeves, who is MP for East Dulwich and Lewisham West and holds the Government post of Solicitor General, was greeted by Steve Smith, Chief Executive at St Christopher’s, and was taken on a tour of the wards by Katie Grace, Matron and Clinical Team Lead for the inpatient unit.
As well as our inpatient unit, Ms Reeves was shown round the hospice gardens, rehabilitation gym and art therapy pavilion. She also met with patients, including one of her constituents, Frank Tate-Sutton, 54, from East Dulwich. Frank has liver disease and has been accessing support from St Christopher’s since 2022. She also renewed her wedding vows at the hospice site in Sydenham in 2023.
Ellie Reeves says: “It was a real privilege to visit St Christopher’s. The care they provide for our community is outstanding and you can see the dedication of their staff and volunteers. Meeting Frank and hearing about the difference St Christopher’s has made to them was incredibly moving.
“Hospices are a vital part of our care system and need our support. While there is still more to be done, I am pleased that the Government is stepping up with £100m of additional funding for hospices.”
Frank Tate-Sutton, is one of the 4,700 people supported to be at home last year by St Christopher’s, which works across Southwark, Bromley, Croydon, Lewisham and Lambeth.
Frank says: “It was lovely to be given the opportunity to talk to Ellie about how much St Christopher’s has helped me.
“Support from the hospice has helped me get my sense of humour back. The food is great, the volunteers are fabulous and the whole organisation is brilliant. It does me good physically and mentally.”
Later in the day, Ellie visited St Christopher’s kids shop in East Dulwich where she made a generous donation of children’s clothing and bought a collection of Beast Quests books.
Steve Smith, Chief Executive at St Christopher’s says: “It was a pleasure to host Rt Hon Ellie Reeves MP, both at our Sydenham site and at our popular East Dulwich kids shop. Ellie has been a great supporter of St Christopher’s and hospice care.
“Like Frank, the majority of people who we support are out in the community and in their own homes. However, there are of course people we support with complex needs who want, and need, to stay with us, so it was great to be able to show Ellie our inpatient care as well outpatient support.
“It was also good to speak to Ellie about the need to address hospice funding long-term as well as the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill and the need to involve palliative care and end of life specialists in the debate.”
