Following months of consultation, Thames Hospice has secured the option to purchase land to build a new 28-bed, purpose-built, hospice by Bray Lake in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead - subject to planning permission.
Debbie Raven, Chief Executive, Thames Hospice, said: “We have seen demand for all of our services increase year-on-year and we are at a point where we need to expand to meet the needs of our local community. Our current Hospice in Windsor is at maximum occupancy and we have up to 10 people per day waiting for much-needed care. After reviewing a number of options to develop our existing site, we have concluded that it does not provide a solution to meet our future needs.
“A new purpose-built hospice would enable us to support more local people, through providing additional inpatient, outpatient and community services, building on the expert care delivered at our current facility in Windsor for almost 30 years.”
Dr Cecily Wright, Medical Director, Thames Hospice, said: “Demand for palliative and end-of-life care services is rising nationally and is set to continue for the foreseeable future. We are feeling the impact of this increase and are fortunate that Thames Hospice has the opportunity to develop a facility which will allow us to meet the needs of our local community.”
Thames Hospice has appointed KKE Architects to design the new hospice, specialists in this field. A planning application for a 28-bed Inpatient Unit will be submitted late 2016/early 2017.
Further updates will be announced in due course.
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