Weston Hospicecare has today launched a new appeal to help buy new equipment to improve facilities for people in the charity’s inpatient unit.
The Comfort And Care fundraising campaign is designed to replace ‘outdated’ items like beds and chairs which are so important to patients’ comfort.
Much of the unit’s current equipment has been in use since the hospice moved into its base at Jackson-Barstow House in Uphill in 1997 – meaning it is at the end of its functional lifespan.
High-quality, modern equipment plays such a key role in ensuring patients are comfortable and supported in their final days.
However, finding the money needed to replace these items is tough for a charity which receives only a fifth of its funding from the NHS, and inpatient unit manager Jill Nash is appealing to the Weston community for help to foot the bill.
She said: “Our goal is to help people with life-limiting illnesses live well, with dignity and independence, for as long as they can. And for families to be able to spend quality, fulfilling time with their loved one, making the most of each day they have together.
“It’s vital that the people we care for feel safe, secure, and of course comforted at what is often an incredibly difficult time in their life.
“Some of our patient beds have been at the hospice since the day it opened in 1997 – but now we simply must start to replace these with newer models.
“We’re making do with equipment that’s fast becoming outdated and unsuitable – and it’s simply not good enough for our patients.
“But we are a charity – and everything we do is provided free of charge. There just isn’t enough money in our yearly nursing budget to account for all of the items we need to replace.”
The hospice’s inpatient unit has 10 bedrooms, and the ambition is to equip each with an adjustable bed, reclining chair and specialist pressure-relieving mattress.
The unit also needs a new infusion machine to help deliver medication, blood or platelets to patients.
But each of these items costs upwards of £2,000 – meaning the overall bill comes to a little over £55,000.
Jill (pictured, top) said: “It would be brilliant to be able to offer each of our patients the use of the best equipment – to give them the comfort we’d all want for our loved ones.
“I can’t tell you how thrilled we’d all be if our whole community could come together to support local people in this special way. Your generosity today would mean the world to families we meet tomorrow.”
If you would like to help, you can donate online, by calling 01934 423900, or by sending donations to Weston Hospicecare, Jackson-Barstow House, 28 Thornbury Road, Uphill, Weston-super-Mare, BS23 4YQ.