Medical advances, such as improved chemotherapy for
cancer, mean patients are living longer and so need our help for longer. Pople with Motor Neurone Disease or severe Multiple
Sclerosis may need a regular daycare place for several months or even years. We need much more space if we are to offer them,
and their carers, the necessary respite and support.
Treetops Hospice was built by remand boys as a pre-release
unit in the 1960s and its size and layout restricts our work in several ways:
- We cannot offer any more daycare places due
to lack of space.
- Creative activities have to take place in
a corridor area with constant interruptions.
- Private conversations are difficult with
so many people using each room.
- Disable access is poor.
The Way Forward
After examining all possible options, the trustees resolved
that the only way forward is to build a new purpose-built centre. The new Centre will include vastly improved day-care facilities.
The new building will provide a Day-Care Centre and Complementary
Therapy practice area. There will be full disabled access throughout. For example, bathrooms and toilets will be designed
so that disabled patients can use these as independently as possible and, if they need assistance, there is space for the
necessary equipment and staff to help them.
What the new Centre will do
Amongst all the ideas that have been presented as we plan the
new centre, certain themes stand out as bearing great importance to patients and carers. This is why we know that the Centre
must:
- Welcome patients with any conditions: The new
Centre will cater for patients with any life shortening conditions, whether they be neurological, viral, respiratory or heart
conditions or cancer or renal failure.
- Make it easy to access specialist medical advice:
Any patient will be able to ring the Hospice and quickly get and appointment to see a palliative care consultant who will
hold regular clinics at the new Centre.
- Open flexible hours: The new centre will open
during evenings and weekends when we know some patients and their families need extra help. These opening hours will make
it possible to be involved in the Centre, helping us to recruit new, younger volunteers.
- Enable patients to invite more visitors: The
new Centre will include a public coffee bar. Patients will be able to invite friends and relatives to call in, knowing there
is somewhere they will feel at ease and not intrude on other patients' privacy. There will be toys and games for young children
visiting with families.
Finance and Funding
Treetops Hospice's Ripple Appeal is designed to raise
£2.5m to build the new Care Centre. It is part of a wider fundraising strategy of investment and
diversification developed by a strong management team.
Looking to the Future
Treetops Hospice is already an outstanding example of community
support. Our volunteers are a highly trained team of good neighbours backed up by skilled nurses. Local people raise funds
for the hospice using any means at their disposal, from well-dressing to parachuting. They have great affection for Treetops
and huge enthusiasm for its future.
The care we provide in people's own homes, and at the Hospice,
makes a huge difference to those struggling to care for ill relatives, day after day. For some families, the Hospice will
be a key part of their life for many years. It may well be the only place that offers regular respite.
