Fundraisers behind a major project to build a new hospice for Norfolk are celebrating after reaching the £10m mark.
The landmark means the EDP-backed Priscilla Bacon Hospice appeal is just £2.5m short of its ambitious target which would pay for a 24-bed palliative care unit next to the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital.
It would replace the 40-year-old Priscilla Bacon Lodge hospice on Unthank Road in Norwich and the fundraiser, which launched in February 2019, has been supported across the community.
Donations have ranged from a few pounds to £2.75m, which is the largest donation to date, and it has also been personally backed by television personality Stephen Fry.
Robert Carter, chairman of the trustees for Priscilla Bacon Hospice, said: "This latest total is a momentous milestone in our fundraising campaign. Every donation large or small is heartfelt and together all of the wonderful support we have received means that the dream of a new Priscilla Bacon Lodge will become a reality.”
"The enthusiastic support we have received represents a direct response to the pioneering care which countless families have received at the lodge over the last 40 years. After a friend, colleague, loved one or family member has received end-of-life care, there is a desire to acknowledge this support. The people of Norfolk and Waveney have responded by donating, fundraising or volunteering, so that the same vital end-of-life care can be given to others in the future.
“This incredible level of supports means we will be able to start to build the new Hospice later this year with an anticipated opening date of mid 2023."
A major contribution to the £10m total was £2.75m from the Priscilla Bacon Lodge Support Group, which started in 1979 to support the ongoing needs of the patients and relatives of the lodge.
Philip Norton, chair of the trustees for Priscilla Bacon Lodge, said: "We believe that using the donations to support the funding of the new lodge to meet future needs is at the heart of what we were set up to do. Once the new project is complete, we hope to continue to play our role in supporting the next generation of care provided by the clinical team.”
To donate visit www.priscillabaconhospice.org.uk/donate.
To get involved with the campaign, contact the fundraising team on 0330 223 4274 or fundraising@priscillabaconhospice.org.uk.
Alternatively write to Priscilla Bacon Hospice Fundraising Office, 20 Low Road, Drayton, Norwich, NR8 6AA.
What will be in the new hospice?
As well as 24 new beds the new palliative care unit will include a variety of facilities to help patients and their families.
There will be specialist rooms so families can stay together towards a patients' end of life.
Visitors and people getting care within the hospice will be able to enjoy landscaped gardens and a dining room.
Patients, families and children can use therapy suites and counselling services will be offered out, along with training opportunities for carers.
A hospice at home centre will also be developed alongside improved day care and outpatient facilities.
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