Strategy
NEW HOSPICE FOR THE COMMUNITY
We are building a new 15 bed hospice on the exsisting Mill Gap Road site. The £8.5 million investment will enable us to care for almost twice as many patients each year.
The compassionate and skilled care that St Wilfrid’s Hospice is renowned for will continue to be at the heart of the charity’s invaluable work.
Building is expected to start in June 2009 and is anticipated to take 18 months to complete. During the building work, St Wilfrid’s Hospice will continue to care for patients in their own homes with Hospice at Home nurses.
The in-patient beds and Day Therapy Clinic will be relocated for the duration of the building project. Hospice doctors and nurses will ensure that the quality of care is not disrupted during this time.
The building started life as a family home in 1881. It was converted into a hospice in 1983 and has been extended twice to try to meet the growing demand for its services. St Wilfrid’s Hospice currently cares for 700 patients a year; the new purpose-built hospice will enable them to care for 1,300 patients and their families each year. The new hospice will have 15 single bedrooms and a suite for relatives.
In addition it will have a Day Therapy Clinic with areas for both individual and group treatments and therapies. New educational facilities will be used to train healthcare professionals in the principles of hospice care. The Rapid Response Team, and the team which supports end of life care in nursing homes, and the Hospice at Home nurses will all be based here.
Chief Executive Kara Bishop said: “It’s very sad that the existing house will have to be taken down, but we have to remember that it was built as a family home. By rebuilding we will be able to care for very many more people. Over the next five years our running costs will increase by 22%, but we will nearly double the number of patients we can see, making our care very much more cost-effective. We only exist because of the generosity of local people, whose donations and legacies enable us to provide our services. We feel a tremendous responsibility to use all gifts for maximum advantage.”
Explaining the decision to build a brand new hospice, Kara said: “St Wilfrid’s has been providing hospice care from this building for 25 years, but the building really is struggling to cope with the growing demand for our care. To extend our services we need more clinical facilities, which can only be achieved by rebuilding. Whilst rebuilding, we will create additional parking spaces to meet our growing parking demands.”
Judy Taylor, whose step-father, Hugh, was a patient in the hospice during 2007, said: “We have become rather programmed to hearing news about bed closures and ward closures, so to hear that beds are being created is wonderful. The compassionate care that my step-father received at St Wilfrid's Hospice made his last days so much more comfortable and made a lasting impression on us. The environment was peaceful and comfortable and the staff were absolutely brilliant. I am sure that every effort will be made to ensure that the new building is as welcoming and homely as the existing one and am certain that the staff will continue to deliver excellent care in their new surroundings. I am pleased that a number of new services will be developed and am delighted that the fantastic care provided by the Hospice will be available to more people."
Many people have special memories associated with the current building. St Wilfrid’s Hospice will commemorate the first 25 years of providing care there in a variety of ways, including a memorial service before the building is closed.
The £8.5 million development will be partly funded from carefully saved cash reserves, but additional funds will be needed and a fundraising appeal will be launched. The hospice, which is a registered charity, receives only 15% of its £3.2 million annual running costs from the NHS. The care provided to patients and relatives is completely free of charge.
For further information please contact St Wilfrid’s Hospice Chief Executive Kara Bishop on 01323 644500.
We are building a new 15 bed hospice on the exsisting Mill Gap Road site. The £8.5 million investment will enable us to care for almost twice as many patients each year.
The compassionate and skilled care that St Wilfrid’s Hospice is renowned for will continue to be at the heart of the charity’s invaluable work.
Building is expected to start in June 2009 and is anticipated to take 18 months to complete. During the building work, St Wilfrid’s Hospice will continue to care for patients in their own homes with Hospice at Home nurses.
The in-patient beds and Day Therapy Clinic will be relocated for the duration of the building project. Hospice doctors and nurses will ensure that the quality of care is not disrupted during this time.
The building started life as a family home in 1881. It was converted into a hospice in 1983 and has been extended twice to try to meet the growing demand for its services. St Wilfrid’s Hospice currently cares for 700 patients a year; the new purpose-built hospice will enable them to care for 1,300 patients and their families each year. The new hospice will have 15 single bedrooms and a suite for relatives.
In addition it will have a Day Therapy Clinic with areas for both individual and group treatments and therapies. New educational facilities will be used to train healthcare professionals in the principles of hospice care. The Rapid Response Team, and the team which supports end of life care in nursing homes, and the Hospice at Home nurses will all be based here.
Chief Executive Kara Bishop said: “It’s very sad that the existing house will have to be taken down, but we have to remember that it was built as a family home. By rebuilding we will be able to care for very many more people. Over the next five years our running costs will increase by 22%, but we will nearly double the number of patients we can see, making our care very much more cost-effective. We only exist because of the generosity of local people, whose donations and legacies enable us to provide our services. We feel a tremendous responsibility to use all gifts for maximum advantage.”
Explaining the decision to build a brand new hospice, Kara said: “St Wilfrid’s has been providing hospice care from this building for 25 years, but the building really is struggling to cope with the growing demand for our care. To extend our services we need more clinical facilities, which can only be achieved by rebuilding. Whilst rebuilding, we will create additional parking spaces to meet our growing parking demands.”
Judy Taylor, whose step-father, Hugh, was a patient in the hospice during 2007, said: “We have become rather programmed to hearing news about bed closures and ward closures, so to hear that beds are being created is wonderful. The compassionate care that my step-father received at St Wilfrid's Hospice made his last days so much more comfortable and made a lasting impression on us. The environment was peaceful and comfortable and the staff were absolutely brilliant. I am sure that every effort will be made to ensure that the new building is as welcoming and homely as the existing one and am certain that the staff will continue to deliver excellent care in their new surroundings. I am pleased that a number of new services will be developed and am delighted that the fantastic care provided by the Hospice will be available to more people."
Many people have special memories associated with the current building. St Wilfrid’s Hospice will commemorate the first 25 years of providing care there in a variety of ways, including a memorial service before the building is closed.
The £8.5 million development will be partly funded from carefully saved cash reserves, but additional funds will be needed and a fundraising appeal will be launched. The hospice, which is a registered charity, receives only 15% of its £3.2 million annual running costs from the NHS. The care provided to patients and relatives is completely free of charge.
For further information please contact St Wilfrid’s Hospice Chief Executive Kara Bishop on 01323 644500.