THANKS to the Jersey Hospice Lottery, which was drawn on Friday evening, ten Islanders working for RBS Coutts are now sharing a cool million pounds. Given that members of the winning syndicate invested only £30 each, they have every reason to feel very happy indeed with the £100,000 that they are each pocketing.

Naturally enough, the winners hit the headlines at the weekend, a front-page picture in this newspaper showing the champagne flowing and glasses held high.

It can, however, be argued that the really big story lies behind the once-a-year fund-raising effort that is the £1,000,000 lottery and its most recent winners.

That story concerns the routine, year-round operation of Jersey Hospice Care, its mission of compassion, and the diligence and understanding of those who care for others nearing the end of their lives.

In an ideal world, hospices would be unnecessary, but as we are all too aware, many people suffer painful or debilitating terminal illnesses which require specialist treatment. Equally, families can be in desperate need of respite from the burden of nursing dependent loved ones at home.

In both these areas, Jersey Hospice provides invaluable, expert help free of charge. Furthermore, at its Clarkson House headquarters, staff and volunteers accomplish their difficult and challenging work in a calm, some would say serene atmosphere which belies the end-of-life finality that must, of necessity, be associated with the hospice movement.

It is, meanwhile, a fact of life that the sort of care offered by our hospice comes at a considerable price. Despite financial assistance from the States, there is great reliance on funds raised in the community. Fortunately, Jersey people respond with enormous generosity to the organisation’s fund-raising appeals.

In this context, the £1,000,000 lottery is, of course, of great importance, but it is not on its own anything like sufficient to meet all hospice’s financial challenges – not least at a time when a programme of new building is in progress.

With this in mind, no one should see the undoubted success of this year’s lottery as a reason for assuming that the fund-raising job has, for the moment, been accomplished. The work of Jersey Hospice Care must continue and, as we must all remember, this depends to a great extent on the people of Jersey and their willingness to support a hugely worthwhile cause.