Our vision

To positively influence a future in which everyone within our community works together to support those facing life-limiting illnesses, so that we may all live well and die well.

Introduction

Our mission

Our mission is to provide the very best care that we can. Our belief is that a person’s mental, emotional, and spiritual needs are as important as their physical or medical ones. It is from this foundation that we provide each person with tailored care, based on their individual wants and needs that will enable them to reach their full potential, extending our care to their family and friends too.

We deliver our care by bringing together compassionate individuals who want to donate their skills and time to provide, free supportive care and respite to people affected by life-limiting illnesses.

Our values

COMPASSION

Compassion is at the heart of what we do, expressed by human kindness, generosity and a deep commitment to the well-being of everyone we care for and work with.

HUMANITY

We understand that a person’s care needs are not just medical or physical and that emotional, mental or spiritual needs may even be more important. Therefore, we will always offer care that starts with the person, not the condition, and will seek to support people in achieving their full potential. We apply this to our team too and ensure that their needs are respected, and we value them as people and offer them the chance to learn and grow while working with us to deliver our mission.

TRUST

We accept people as who they are and avoid making judgements. We encourage openness and honesty when communicating with people, and build relationships where people know that they can entrust us with their greatest vulnerabilities, being confident that we will keep them safe.

RESPECT

We respect all people, their culture and their beliefs – be they religious or otherwise – and will not tolerate prejudice. We respect the wishes, boundaries and confidentiality of our team, our patients and their families and friends at all times.

COMMITMENT

We are fully committed to the wellbeing of those in our care and supporting them at each stage on their journey with us. As volunteers, we take our commitment to the people in our care and those we work with seriously and understand the importance of our roles, and dedication required to provide a consistently excellent standard of care.

ACCOUNTABILITY

Everyone who works in the Hospice, whether they are paid or donating their time, works to the highest standard of accountability, adhering to requirements on quality assurance, policies and regulations of professional and regulatory bodies. We are committed to ensuring the highest standards of safety for our patients, their friends and family and volunteers to protect the time, money, and resources entrusted to us.

our year in numbers—2025

352

Day hospice attendances for 41 individual patients.

Overnight respite attendances for 30 individual patients.

1,005

Home-cooked meals for patients, their families and friends.

693

Therapies, activities and support sessions offered.

Frequently asked questions

Our story so far

In 1987, the founder of Skanda Vale Monastery, Guru Sri Subramanium, had a severe heart attack. In the bed next to him lay a man dying. Despite their best efforts, the nurses could only spend a few minutes with the man, who died feeling lonely and afraid. Recognising that hospitals sometimes struggle to meet the ‘whole-person’ care needs of those with life-limiting illnesses, Guru founded Skanda Vale Hospice.

1993 – Home care service begins. Ends in 2003.
2004 – Day care respite centre opens.
2016 – Inpatient respite services phased in.
2024 – Ongoing planning for the launch of 24/7 respite and end-of-life care.

Our ethos: volunteering

Skanda Vale Hospice is primarily led and run by volunteers. While a small number of paid staff provide expertise and consistency in key roles, most of our team, including all senior management, consists of volunteers. To expand our services to operate 24/7/365 using a volunteer model, we offer free accommodation to make it easier for people to contribute their time.

Skanda Vale Hospice benefits greatly from the congregational support of Skanda Vale Monastery—a large, geographically diverse community that provides human resources and financial support beyond what the local community alone could offer.

Accountability

Skanda Vale Hospice CIO is registered with the Healthcare Inspectorate Wales (HIW) and the Charity Commission, ensuring oversight by independent organisations. Internally, our Quality Control team are dedicated to monitoring and learning from our activities to enhance patient experience and maintain organisational accountability, and our Quality Assurance Framework is mapped to HIW standards.

To uphold our founding principles, the charity is administered by a board of trustees, half of which are drawn from the Skanda Vale monastic community, while the other half are selected from a cross-section of professional backgrounds.

Visit our profiles:
THE CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND & WALES

HEALTHCARE INSPECTORATE WALES

Independently funded

Skanda Vale Hospice is managed with careful attention to financial sustainability. We operate within our means and have not taken on debt or borrowed money. The hospice building is leased from Skanda Vale Monastery for a nominal rent of £1 per year, on a 50-year lease, with no mortgages involved.

Our infrastructure has been developed gradually and responsibly, in response to need. We do not employ professional fundraisers and receive no statutory funding from the local health board or government. Instead, the hospice is independently supported through a diverse mix of reliable income streams. These include two shops, a café, a snack stall, and a holiday accommodation business, alongside donations, fundraising events, and occasional legacies.

2026 Budget Income

Skanda Vale Monastery gift shop, café, and snack stall: £156k
Donations and legacies: £72.7k (approx. 30% of these donations come through Skanda Vale Monastery)
Skanda Hafan holiday accommodation: £40k
Newcastle Emlyn charity boutique: £40k
Fundraising events: £55k
Grants: £15k
Investment income: £18k
VAT claims: £20k
Total: £416.7k

2026 Budget Expenditure

Pay, tax, national insurance and pensions: £261.6k
Running costs: £115.7k (catering, patient care, housekeeping, insurance, training, equipment, maintenance, utilities)
Retail costs: £7k (shops, Skanda Hafan, utilities, council tax)
Fundraising expenditure: £20k
Support / governance: £28.6k (professional fees, auditing, licenses, software)
Volunteer expenses: £16.8k
Grant project costs: £7.5k
Investment in hospice equipment assets: £10k
Total: £467.2k

During 2026, the hospice is planning to operate with a controlled deficit as services continue to develop and expand. This is supported by existing reserves, allowing the organisation the necessary breathing space to strengthen and diversify future income streams.

Sustainability & the environment

Here are some of the measures we are taking to reduce our environmental impact:

We reduce our carbon emissions and energy costs by using wood chips from Skanda Vale Monastery’s nearby forest to provide heating and hot water for the hospice.
We have installed high-quality external insulation on our old stone buildings to reduce heat loss at the hospice.
All our hospice vehicles are fully electric, charged primarily with renewable energy at Skanda Vale Monastery.
A large solar array and ground source heat pump at Skanda Hafan provide heating and hot water for our guests.