Dream so close to becoming reality at new Hillington hospice

[wendy]

After years of planning, tireless fundraising and a mountain of generosity, finally what was once a vision for a new hospice for West Norfolk and The Fens is becoming a tangible reality.

Out of the muddy, rutted ground at the Hillington building site where diggers and dumpers are hard at work, the new £3.4 million hospice is beginning to take shape.

And with the target date set for its opening in March 2014, the next three-and-a-half months will see full-scale activity continue both on and off site, in terms of construction and fundraising.

When the project reaches completion, North West Norfolk will have a new hospice featuring seven in-patient beds, community facilities and the scope to incorporate more beds in the future.

At present Norfolk Hospice, Tapping House is based in a converted bungalow in Common Road West, Snettisham, where the hospice has literally outgrown its accommodation. It has no in-house beds, corridors and doorways are inadequate for wheelchairs and there have been problems with some of the services, including waste disposal and the supply of electricity. Portakabins outside in the garden are used for some of the office space.

Even though the hospice provides first-class day care and has a hospice at home service along with end-of-life beds at a home in Lynn, the new hospice at Hillington holds the key to offering much more in the future and is also more central to the area which it serves.

Capital for funding the new hospice has come from outside the county, the largest grant coming from the Department of Health, and other monies have been obtained from grant-giving organisations. But a further £600,000 is still needed for the fitting out of all the patients’ areas.

“That amount will allow us to do everything we need to do and priority will be given to those areas,” said Richard Shaw, the hospice’s chief executive.

“The support and generosity we have had from local people has been overwhelming and this will be our final push to cross the line. We are aiming to get the £600,000 in the next two months,” said Richard.

“The hospice movement is going through changes nationally and people are better informed about choices and able to assert their wishes to die at home. We shall be doing a lot more for people in their own homes because people want to be cared for there.

“We think of this new building as being a community hub where we will continue to work closely with other charities, doctors, the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, the district nursing team, Crossroads Daycare Centre and others too.”

Endless care and thought has gone into the planning and design of the new building, which is being constructed by Norfolk firm RG Carter, to ensure that it best serves those who will come to use its services.

The seven in-patient beds, will have en-suite facilities which are designed to give a homely feel. Each patient’s room will have patio doors letting in plenty of light and giving views across nearby woodland and farmland.

The personal touch is very important and if it gives someone extra comfort, then they can bring in their own pictures and even possibly their own pet dog.

“The beds provide several functions, including symptom management and will be used for respite care to give carers who may be exhausted a much-needed break and relieve them of their responsibility for while.”

Included in the patients’ area is a room especially for young people, which will have an adjoining room to accommodate their family members and there will also be a large family room for visitors and children overlooking the large central courtyard area around which the whole hospice is being built.

Close by is a chapel, which has been designed so that someone can be taken in on a bed, if necessary, and there is room for family and friends too.

The patients’ area of the hospice can be reached by a road from the main entrance off Wheatfields so that there is no need for them to go through the reception area.

The main entrance, where the reception is located, is designed to be light and airy, with rooms to a consulting room nearby so no one has far to walk. Leading off from this are community offices for doctors and nurses, administrative staff, bereavement counsellors and volunteers, a meeting room, information suite and store area. There is also a spiritual zone, for those who want to use a non-religious area.

“This is going to be fantastic 24/7 facility and the first time we have had anything like it in North West Norfolk,” said Richard.
http://www.lynnnews.co.uk/news/local/la ... -1-5716257

[daisy]

go90  It's good that this hospice will become a reality

[annie]

Brilliant news for Norfolk, our Hospice has been open now for 20 years & keeps on expanding, what a Godsend it has been for the town

[maureenho]

Set in  a lovely part of Norfolk as well.