Member Article

Charity-fundraised Norfolk hospice celebrates key milestone

Morgan Sindall Construction’s Eastern Counties business has held a topping-out ceremony at the new Priscilla Bacon Lodge, as the community-fundraised development reaches a key milestone.

The Priscilla Bacon Hospice Charity is in the process of raising the final £1 million of the £12.5 million target needed to deliver this much-needed hospice next to the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital.

Attendees to the ceremony heard a vote of thanks from Robert Carter, Chair of the Board of Trustees for Priscilla Bacon Hospice and witnessed beer being poured over the roof by Dr Sarah Gough, Palliative Care Consultant and Charlotte Shawe, Quality Matron for Palliative Care from the existing facility.

Guests included Lord Lieutenant of Norfolk The Lady Dannatt MBE, Councillor James Easter, Chairman of South Norfolk Council, Councillor Karen Vincent, Chair of Norfolk County Council, Councillor Andrew Proctor, Leader of Norfolk County Council, trustees from the Priscilla Bacon Hospice Charity, trustees from the Priscilla Bacon Lodge Support Group, representatives from the build team involved with the project and staff and volunteers from the Priscilla Bacon Hospice Charity.

Morgan Sindall Construction are well underway in delivering the state-of-the-art lodge situated on an eight-acre plot of land, which has been donated by Robert and Charlotte Carter to mark the centenary of R G Carter Ltd.

Robert Carter, Chairman of Priscilla Bacon Hospice Charity and R G Carter Group, said: “The topping-out of the new Priscilla Bacon Lodge is a significant day for the Charity. We need to thank all those who on the wider build team who have played a role in the design and construction of this magnificent new hospice.”

“For over 40 years, exceptional care has been delivered by the medical team at Priscilla Bacon Lodge at the Colman Hospital site. It is therefore fitting that Charlotte Shawe, Quality Matron for Palliative Care and Dr Sarah Gough, one of the Palliative Care Consultants at the existing facility mark this occasion, symbolising the continuity of care from the old facility to the new.”

As part of Morgan Sindall Construction’s commitment to its Intelligent Solutions approach, its Eastern Counties business has worked closely with local consultants LSI and Richard Utting Associates. For each decision regarding the development’s design and construction, careful consideration has been taken for the health and wellbeing of the facility’s future patients. The finished hospice will see all 24 inpatient beds have access to a private garden, looking out on an eight-acre green space.

Rupert Kitchen, Director at LSI Architects, said: Our designs for the new Priscilla Bacon Lodge, combined with the rural setting that the building benefits from, aim to ensure that the new Hospice will not only cater for peoples’ physical needs, but also support their emotional, social and spiritual wellbeing.

We have worked hard to create a building that reaches out and welcomes you in, and one that provides positive, light-filled and vibrant spaces that are bustling with life. Throughout the scheme we’ve also sought to reinforce connections with nature to ‘bring the outside in’ and further support the wellbeing of patients, families and staff.“

The complete development will also feature improved day care facilities, with a wellness centre and gym, as well as the space to host a hub to provide ‘virtual ward’ services for people being cared for in their homes. The new hospice will also be a platform for education and research into palliative and end-of-life care.

Alister Broadberry, area director for Morgan Sindall Construction in the Eastern Counties, said: “The importance of end-of-life care is something that sits close to the hearts of the entire team, through our own personal experiences. We are extremely pleased to play a role in delivering such an important facility to the generous people of Norfolk, who have given so much to this project.

“Sitting on beautiful fields on the doorstep of the Norfolk and Norwich University site, it will provide the perfect home for high quality end-of-life care, with the wellness of its users at the centre.”

Sandra Dineen, Strategic Project Advisor at Priscilla Bacon Hospice charity, said: “The generosity of fundraisers, donors and Trusts across Norfolk and Waveney have enabled us to turn the dream of a new specialist facility into a reality. We have had tremendous support from our partners at Norfolk Community Health and Care NHS Trust and Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital and the Norfolk and Waveney Integrated Care Board to progress the project. We are in the process of raising the final £1 million needed to complete the build, we are thrilled that Trusts and donors and agreeing to help again in our final fundraising push to raise the funds necessary to complete the construction of the new facility.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by John Robson .