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£495,000 worth of hospice care, dignity and privacy

20 May 2010


‘Generous’ grant provides upgrade at St Helena’s day centre
 
A Day centre which provides care for seriously ill people is set to undergo a major refurbishment.
 
A total of £495,000 is to be spent on upgrading the Joan Tomkins Day Centre at St Helena Hospice.
 
The hospice, which is based in High Woods, Colchester, is one of 123 across the country to be awarded part of a £40 million fund to give better quality care, more diginity and privacy.
 
The day centre was launched in 1985 and was officially opened by Princess Diana three years later.
 
It was created thanks to funding from businessman Robin Tomkins, whose wife was cared for at the hospice during the 1980’s.
 
At the time, the hospice was a tenth of the size it is now and only had an inpatient unit.
 
The work on the re-modernisation project could start in early summer and will follow a consultation period with service users and existing patients.
 
The project will include creating six new multi-purpose rooms and is expected to be completed by Christmas.
 
Saul Ridley, director of day and outpatient services, said the staff who use space in the downstairs of the building will be moved to the loft area to create new rooms.
 
He explained: “It allows us to convert lots of rooms downstairs for patient use, it is quite a radical transformation.
 
“When it is all done we will have six large multi-purpose rooms. At present, we have two and one single-purpose room.”
 
The converted rooms will be used for a range of functions, such as by a doctor or for the hospice’s lymphedema service.
 
Hospice director Rosy Stamp said: “Our Joan Tomkins Day Centre urgently needs modernising so that we can provide patients with the highest standards.
 
“We are so grateful for this generous grant.”
 
Hospice chairman Christopher Pertwee said he had e-mailed Mr Tomkins, who is currently abroad, to tell him of the news and he said he was “highly delighted”.
 
The fundraising was committed as part of the Department of Health’s end of life care strategy, to provide high-quality care for all adults approaching the end of their life.
 
Last year it cost nearly £440,000 to run the day centre and £5 million to provide all the hospice’s services.
 
Twenty per cent of that is funded by North East Essex Primary Care Trust, with the remaining cash coming from fundraising and donations.

ECS 09/04/10


 

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