Ashgate Hospicecare to transform facilities to allow families to sleep by their loved ones’ side
Ashgate Hospicecare is set to transform their three bedded bays into nine modern bedrooms.
Ashgate Hospicecare’s thirty-year-old hospice wing is keeping families apart. However, the Hospice plans to bring families closer together by transforming their three bedded bays into nine modern bedrooms giving patients a private space to be surrounded by the love of those close to them.
The vision, which will create a homely, welcoming space at the Hospice, will transform care, privacy, family time, space and dignity for patients and their families across North Derbyshire.
Barbara-Anne Walker, Chief Executive of Ashgate Hospicecare, said: “We believe every person matters and they matter until the end of their life. The time that patients and their families spend with us will often be the most precious days and nights. We offer them outstanding nursing and medical care.
However, for many of the people who need to be on our Inpatient Unit, we are no longer able to offer them the privacy and dignity that they deserve and that we would all want for ourselves or for someone we love.”
Dr Sarah Parnacott, Consultant in Palliative Medicine at Ashgate Hospicecare, said: “When the Hospice was first opened we had three bedded bays built which have not changed over the last 30 years. However, the needs of the patients that now come into the Hospice have changed dramatically.”
“The biggest challenge that the three bays create for our patients is the lack of privacy. There are three bed spaces very close to each other, only separated by a flimsy curtain. Whenever possible, we do try and move a patient who is nearing the end of their life into a single bedroom to afford them greater privacy and dignity, but that’s not always possible. When a patient is dying in one of the bays it can be very distressing for other patients sharing the bay and their families.
Turning the bays into these beautiful single bedrooms will give our patients and their families a spacious, private and dignified environment and give the other doctors, our nursing staff and me the power to care for more people.”
Ashgate Hospicecare wants to help ensure future generations can get hospice care when they need it. The needs of the North Derbyshire community have changed in the last thirty years. The renovation of the old wing will not only enable the Hospice to meet those needs, but also meet the outstanding standards of the Care Quality Commission.
Greg and Lauranne share what Ashgate meant to them when Lauranne’s sister, Julie, came to the Hospice. Julie had brain cancer and as she became more poorly, her family cared for her at home. But when Julie’s symptoms became unmanageable for them to cope with, she was admitted to a single bedroom on our Inpatient Unit at the Hospice.
They said: “The Hospice provided us, as a family, with so many precious moments together. We feel incredibly lucky that Julie was able to have her own bedroom. I can’t imagine half of these moments being possible in a bay. We wouldn’t have all fitted around the bed, that’s for sure.”
Ali Ward-Foster, Partnerships Manager at Ashgate Hospicecare, said: “Since we opened our doors 30 years ago we have always prioritised our spending on the front line services that enable us to care for patients and their families. We rely on donations and gifts in Wills for over 70% of our funding so it is a constant challenge. We hope local businesses and people will support the Hospice with an additional donation for this project.”
Want to find out more about how you could support this amazing project and how your support could make a difference to the lives of local people? Just call Ali, Capital Appeals Manager on 01246 567250 or email alison.ward-foster@ashgatehospicecare.org.uk.
