Hospice plans will support people in Western Devon
North Devon Hospice has announced plans to bring its care closer to people living in western Devon. This will include opening a new building in Holsworthy.
The charity staged an event at Holsworthy Memorial Hall to allow people to learn more about how families affected by a life-limiting illness can achieve quality of life in spite of difficult circumstances. There was also the chance to see the plans and designs for the new building.Stephen Roberts, Chief Executive of North Devon Hospice, believes this is a landmark moment for the charity, as well as communities in the Holsworthy area: “For 30 years North Devon Hospice has been providing care right across the vast rural area of North Devon. For the Holsworthy area this has essentially been provided through our specialist community nurse, Annie Hogg. For over 20 years she has been supporting patients and their families in their home as well as at the community hospital.
“However, the travel time to our main hospice base in Barnstaple is often a barrier for patients and their families from West Devon to benefit from the other care that’s available to them,” he said. “This gap in care is exactly why we are developing a purpose-built facility in Holsworthy to enable us to provide more care closer to people’s homes. We are very excited by this project because we know what a massive difference it will make to so many families whose lives are impacted by cancer and other life-limiting illnesses.”
The proposed building will be called The Long House, reflecting the shape of the design. North Devon Hospice has worked with the Exeter team from NPS Group to design a building that will create exactly the right environment for patients and families.
Stephen says: “A comment we often hear when people visit North Devon Hospice for the first time is that it’s like walking into a big hug, because it feels so supportive and safe. That is what we want to achieve with The Long House and it has been fantastic working with NPS to come up with building designs to make that possible.
“A great deal of thought has gone into every facet of the design, with the needs of the patient and their family always at the forefront. We are also delighted to have secured a site right next to the GP surgery and Holsworthy Community Hospital, and we’re grateful to Holsworthy Medical Centre for making this possible. It means we will all be able to work together closely to provide the very best patient care.”
North Devon Hospice has had a charity shop in Holsworthy for nearly 20 years, and has enjoyed tremendous support from the community in that time. Pauline
Wonnacott, volunteer manager at the shop, says: “It is a wonderful thing that the hospice is bringing even more care to the Holsworthy area. They already provide some wonderful care, most of which goes on behind closed doors without people realising, but the drive to Barnstaple can be just too much, so a lot of people are missing out on additional care that would help them a lot. People here do hold the hospice dear to their heart, so I am sure they will get behind them and support this project. It is very exciting indeed.”
North Devon Hospice’s Long House Appeal has now been launched, and members of the public can donate by visiting northdevonhospice.org.uk. For more information about ways in which you can support the appeal, please call Ali Hunt on 01271 347206 or email alihunt@northdevonhospice.org.uk.
