Georgina Revill - Relative of Founding Member

“Not only did my siblings and I benefit from saint Hugh’s wisdom, so did the whole island with the legacy he left which continues in the good works our current Hospice provide today.  All those who are associated with Hospice are saints - very virtuous, kind and patient people.” 

“My father Dr. Hugh was a saint…he wasn’t just our own family’s saint, he was elected a saint by his extended family, all those who had the pleasure of coming in contact with him. 

Dr. Hugh Revill, was one of the best loved and most highly respected members of the family of staff at St. Bridget’s Hospice (the former home of Hospice) a medical doctor with over 40 years’ service within the profession. 

The brainchild of Hospice Care, Nadene Crowther, along with Dr. Guy Pantin, Peter Vickers and my father, all decided to try and extend the help already being given to cancer sufferers on the Isle of Man.  Involved in the Hospice Care project from its outset in the early 1980s, Dr. Hugh found the most rewarding part was his relationship with the staff and volunteers not only in administrating the Hospice’s medical service but carrying out the massive ongoing fundraising effort within the community to provide a physical presence and Hospice at Home Care.  

Together with Home Care Sister, Pat Pearson, Dr. Hugh initiated Hospice Care’s clinical services, which involved determining what the ultimate needs for terminal care on the Island would be.  I remember him constantly being asked why our Island needed a hospice when we had admirable hospitals and his answer would be, ‘Our hospitals are rightly geared towards getting people better.  If you are not getting better you need special care, time and an unhurried atmosphere for yourself and your loved ones.’

When Dr. Hugh eventually retired, he said that he was very fortunate in that he had never wanted to do anything but be a doctor, and he was lucky to have experienced so many aspects of the work…..and what a doctor he was!  He devoted everything to establishing the Isle of Man Hospice service and helping other jurisdictions as far away as the Cayman Islands do the same.

One of his last wishes was that our Hospice would continue to be named St. Bridget’s, the Patron Saint who attracted those who wished to share with her the care of the sick and the weary.

In one of the Hospice’s newsletters dated June 1989 which thanked him for his service, the staff wrote, ‘On so many occasions you have been “an ear” in times of stress or you have negotiated on someone’s behalf when a difficulty has appeared to be beyond resolve and, most of all, you have given of your expertise with tenderness and love.  For this patients and families, staff and volunteers are deeply grateful.’

Not only did my siblings and I benefit from saint Hugh’s wisdom, so did the whole island with the legacy he left which continues in the good works our current Hospice provide today.  All those who are associated with Hospice are saints - very virtuous, kind and patient people.”