Improving Accessibility Creating a Welcoming Environment at St Mary’s Hospice
Derbyshire
Hospices
West Yorkshire
Mar 2024
Children’s Hospice can now help more children and their families
Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice supports children with life-shortening conditions, their families, and families who are living with the loss of their child across West Yorkshire.
Their ‘outstanding’ rated services by the Care Quality Commission include nursing care, hydrotherapy, creative therapy, days out, memory making, end of life care, bereavement support and counselling.
Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice helps families make the most of every moment they have together. Whether that’s providing support at their purpose-built hospice or helping families through their Hospice at Home service, and in hospitals across West Yorkshire.
The need
There is a growing demand from West Yorkshire NHS commissioners for care placements for children and young people with significant and complex needs, helping to both avoid hospital admission and support earlier discharge.
Due to this growing need, Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice applied for CRASH’s help to increase capacity of their hospice. This involved creating a new fifth children’s en-suite bedroom and upgrading an existing family en-suite room for multi-use.
The project
CRASH Corporate Patron, Arcadis joined the initial visit and produced a detailed report highlighting the hospices next best steps to increasing their space, enabling them to help more children and their families. A Cost Manager from Corporate Patron Gardiner & Theobald also donated their time and expertise to cost this project.
The fifth children’s bedroom was created in line with the latest accessibility requirements by converting the former storeroom, conveniently next to the existing four bedrooms.
One of the two family rooms has now been upgraded to a multi-use functionality, meaning it can be used by both families and teenagers/older children with significant but less complex needs.
The total Gift in Kind value for this project was £47,640. This includes a grant from CRASH, that is only made possible thanks to generous donations and fundraising of the construction industry.
The initial visit to Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice with Corporate Patron Arcadis
Works in progress
The fifth children’s bedroom was created in line with the latest accessibility requirements by converting the former storeroom…
… the former store room.
The new bedroom was created next to the four existing bedrooms
The hospice now has five en-suite children’s bedrooms
The additional bedroom enhances the ‘outstanding’ care the hospice staff can deliver
The en-suite bathroom is also fully accessible
Together we construct places that care for children who need hospice care
The outcome
- The hospice now has five en-suite children’s bedrooms compared to four, meaning more children and their families can be helped when they need it most.
- The multi-use room can be used by families and teenagers/older children, helping the hospice to increase their capacity and meet the demand at that time.
- The child’s bedroom is complete with the latest accessibility requirements and enhances the ‘outstanding’ care the hospice staff can deliver.
- By serving more children and their families the hospice is helping to avoid hospital admission and support earlier discharge.
- The new space generates additional revenue for the hospice from NHS commissioned continuing care placements. This income will help to underpin and support the hospices core charitable services.
“Arcadis has a long history of supporting CRASH and I feel extremely honoured and privileged to play a part in that support. It was clear from the second we stepped through the door that the staff at the Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice truly care about helping families make the most of every moment that have together, and it feels very special to be able to use my professional skills to help CRASH support the charity on this project.”
Associate – Lenders, Investors and Insurers at Arcadis
“We are delighted with the addition of a new bedroom – the first one since Russell House was built over 10 years ago. This expansion allows us to extend our respite and clinical care services to children, both those on our charitable caseload and those with highly complex needs through funded placements. Providing a home away from home for children in need of respite care is incredibly important to families who often find themselves exhausted by providing round-the-clock care to their child. With this additional space, our dedicated care team, recognised with an ‘outstanding’ rating by the Care Quality Commission, can offer support to even more families. We’re incredibly grateful to CRASH for their support in this project and to all the fundraisers whose contributions have made grants like this possible.”
CEO at Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice
