Duchess back at hospice

Published 30 Oct 2009 10:00 0 Comments

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THE president and founder of a vital hospice in Windsor will be cut the ribbon again to unveil new and improved patient facilities.

Anne, Duchess of Norfolk, president of Thames Hospicecare and founder of the hospice Dr Douglas Denny will officially open the £300,000 refurbished areas at the hospice in Hatch Lane today (Friday).

The main changes include a brand new patient and visitor reception area, two new counselling rooms where therapists can offer family support and bereavement counselling and a separate entrance for patients arriving by ambulance, allowing them greater privacy and easier access to the wards and out-patient facilities.

Fundraising manager, Sue Lindsey, said the work had been absolutely essential to the Hospice's ongoing commitment to improving care.

She said: "The Hospice is concerned with a patient's total care, and that means not just treating their physical symptoms but meeting their emotional and psychological needs too. Our new reception is lovely. Visitors and patients are instantly welcomed by our volunteer receptionist and are able to relax in a light and open environment. Patient care; easing anxieties, minimising stress, making people feel comfortable, starts from the moment patients and families enter the hospice and that is why this reception is so very important to us.

"The reception also offers us two further important resources; better equipped counselling rooms and a dedicated ambulance point. These will be a real asset to us."

Funds for the refurbishment, started in February this year, were raised through donations from trusts offering finding for capital projects.

During their visit the Duchess and Dr Denny will be taken on a tour of the new facilities.

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