Michael Matheson, MSP for Falkirk West opens new Hospice extension that offers new facilities and the space to deliver even better care for patients.
Strathcarron Hospice new extension, the Carron View Wing, will officially be opened today by Michael Matheson, MSP for Falkirk West. This extension will make a significant difference to staff, patients and their families, and the local Hospice is grateful for the two generous Gift in Wills which enabled them to build this new space.
The Hospice has been caring for patients and their families from across all our local communities for over four decades, and although Strathcarron has made improvements over the years, these new facilities and space will enable the Hospice to continue to deliver better service and care for patients.
This welcome extension includes the staff changing area, new consultants’ offices, a large meeting room, and a new laundry.
These new areas will allow patients and staff across departments to benefit from more comfortable spaces, as well as access to up-to-date facilities. By relocating the laundry room, the patient kitchen can be expanded, as well as free-up space for more advantageous use, for example, creating more rooms to accommodate family guests overnight.
Irene McKie, CEO Strathcarron Hospice, “As a Hospice, we need to fund this kind of work ourselves. The NHS arrangement with Hospices in Scotland, is that they only partially fund services, not capital. This new building falls into the ‘capital’ category, as does much of our redecoration and upgrading of the Hospice building. We also have to fully fund our Information Technology (IT) equipment and software licences and we now need to spend over £50,000 annually on licence fees alone. This is self-funded, funded by our incredibly generous supporters. With the NHS funding only 1/3 of our service costs, we need to raise £14,632 every single day to keep our vital services running”.
Many of the Hospice staff require IT to enable them to do their day to day work and one of the key IT licences is for these computerised Patient Records System. This highly secure and confidential system increases efficiency, in cost and time. There is minimal paper filing, printing and postage, but most importantly, patient records are updated at pace and with ease, ensuring seamless team to team communication, to directly benefit patient care.
Irene McKie continues, “We must also ensure that the Hospice is warm, windproof and watertight – another financial pressure on top of running costs. We need to continually replace, upgrade and fix as we go. The result is that our patients tell us that we do not look and feel like a hospital. As soon as they walk through Strathcarron Hospice doors, they can relax, they feel comfortable and safe. We understand that if a family has entrusted their loved one into our care, they need to feel a real sense of confidence that we will look after them well: to know that our care standards are high, in every sense of the word”.
To date, the Hospice outgoing costs are manageable, but despite positive improvements in fundraising and retail, a deficit is expected at the end of the year.
Stathcarron Hospice is projecting income of around £1.5m from Gift in Wills, but, this is not guaranteed. With some local solicitors donating their fee to Strathcarro7 Hospice to draft up customer Wills in the month of October, it is a great opportunity for individuals to draft up or review a wills. If everyone gifted just 1% of their estate to Strathcarron, this could be a funding game changer, year on year for Strathcarron Hospice.
Please visit www.strathcarronhospice.net to for further information on Gifts in Wills and other current future fundraising events and other ways in which you can support.
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About Strathcarron Hospice
We support people across Forth Valley, Cumbernauld and Kilsyth living with a life limiting condition. We help to make every moment count for patients and their families, so that they can live well with their illness and make the most of the time they have, and when the time comes, to die well.
Strathcarron Hospice needs to raise around £102,000 a week to provide all their services, which are free to those who use them across our local communities.
As well as In- Patient and Hospice@Home care, our highly skilled multidisciplinary teams include Nursing teams, Patient and Family Support (social work), Physiotherapists, Occupational Therapists, Pharmacist, Chaplains, Complementary Therapists, Consultants in Palliative Medicine and Specialty Doctors.
As a charity, Strathcarron Hospice is funded by the people we serve. They walk, run, cycle, jump, bake and go to many other amazing efforts to fundraise for their local Hospice. Strathcarron simply cannot continue delivering our valuable services free of charge, without the ongoing support of our communities.
With only one third of our hospice funded by the Government, we are incredibly grateful to our generous supporters who make up the significant shortfall.
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