New State-of-the-Art Hospice for Herefordshire
PAGE 34 • FESTIVE NEWS • DECEMBER 2014
In January 2013 St Michael’s Hospice
launched its Redevelopment Appeal, asking
their community to help raise the £11.3million needed to build a much-needed new
Hospice for Herefordshire.
Because of the incredible groundswell of local
support the appeal is now within £500,000 of it’s
target and St Michael’s Hospice is preparing to
move into a carefully designed Inpatient Unit
which will provide the best possible therapeutic
environment for patients and their families.
With future generations in mind the new Hospice has also been designed to achieve ultra-low
energy usage. The orientation of the glazing not
only takes full advantage of the magnificent
views to the south but also enables the use of
solar gain to heat and control the internal climate.
In the summer, the building will be kept cool
using natural ventilation and in the winter the
ventilation and heat recovery system will also
control the temperature by reusing heat and therefore reducing the energy required.
Over the past 30 years St Michael’s Hospice
has helped to revolutionize palliative care and has
developed vital services which support the whole
family. Staff at St Michael’s Hospice are now
caring for more people than ever before, so it has
been tremendously important to have the space
needed to be able to provide care with dignity and
respect.
Debbie Emmett, Health Care Assistant at St
Michael’s Hospice said, ‘When I started 14 years
ago we were much quieter. Today there is a much
greater need for people to use Hospice services;
we are caring for more people in many different
ways. Patients can now come to St Michael’s
Hospice for symptom control and then return
home, and many more patients use our Inreach
services which enable people to remain living in
their own homes for as long as possible.’
One of the key design features of the new
building are the private bedrooms with en-suite
bathrooms. Debbie believes this feature is vital in
The new St Michael’s Hospice In-Patient Unit under 6