Voice's From The Community: Father Paul Sartori

Father Paul Dominic Sartori was a Llanelli-born Catholic priest of Italian heritage, who, came to Pembrokeshire in 1966 as a curate to St David and St Patrick’s, the Parish Church in Haverfordwest.

Upon his arrival, he captured the hearts of his parishioners as well as the wider Pembrokeshire community. Fr. Sartori served both his parish and the people of Pembrokeshire to the best of his ability and through his charitable ventures, saw the need for a hospice service which was not available in Pembrokeshire at the time.

Before he was fully able to bring his dream into reality, he sadly became unwell and subsequently died, aged just 39. In the aftermath of this tragedy, a group of local people began to strive to bring his ideas to fruition and, in May 1981, the Paul Sartori Foundation was formed with the aim of providing hospice care for Pembrokeshire.

In 1982, the Foundation became a registered charity, governed by a board of trustees all of whom are unpaid and volunteers. Later, in 1985, the Hospice at Home Care Service was started with six carers. As the years progressed, the Foundation expanded the team to include Registered Nurses. The charity now employs a home care team of around 30 Registered Nurses and Nursing Assistants.

Although Father Paul Sartori was a Catholic priest, the Foundation was established to provide a service to all, which reflects the love and care given to the wider Pembrokeshire community by Fr. Sartori.

The Foundation was and remains today as Pembrokeshire’s ONLY hospice at home service, we provide care for any life-limiting illness, offering a multifaceted approach to caring for both patients and their families.

Services provided:

Day or night respite care is available, but for some people, a few hours support is all that is required. Operating an open referral system – the service accepts referrals from other healthcare professionals, and directly from family and friends. In addition to the Home Nursing Care, the other services include Equipment Loan, Physiotherapy, Bereavement Counselling & Support, Complementary Therapies and Future Care Planning. Training is also delivered to the clinical team and other health care professionals.

Future:

The demand for the service has grown since the creation of the Foundation back in 1982. The team deliver around 18,000 hours of care per year. There is an expectation that the need will increase further, and it is therefore imperative that the charity maintains sufficient funding to be able to meet that demand. Paul Sartori Foundation actively supports the individual’s choice to die at home. The charity anticipates there will be a continued increase in the numbers of people with a life-limiting illness needing care and support. As the economic climate becomes more challenging, the charity’s costs will rise.

However, together with the ongoing support of the community, we will continue our mission: “To provide sustainable services that promote good end-of-life in Pembrokeshire”.

The National Lottery Heritage Fund awarded the Foundation funds to allow the charity to commission the Voices from the Community: Father Pauls Sartori’s Journey from Priest to Hospice Care, oral history project. Officially launched in July 2022, the project aimed to highlight the connection between Father Paul Sartori, a local Catholic priest, and the impact he had on individuals, the community, and the forming of the charity in his name.