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Work starts on hospice

Unit features: Sun terrace, garden, large balconies and sacred space.
Unit features: Sun terrace, garden, large balconies and sacred space.

BUILDING work for a brand new £2m inpatient hospice serving Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire and Ceredigion got underway earlier this week. Skanda Vale Hospice are developing their existing facilities to include a six bedroom in-care unit. The new hospice will begin phasing in their new services from November 2015, offering inpatient respite and end of life care services that are not currently available anywhere in the three counties. Since 1993, monks and nuns from Skanda Vale multi-faith monastery have been offering practical, emotional, social and spiritual care to families affected by life-threatening illnesses, completely free of charge.

The local community will soon benefit from much more choice and support, at one of the most difficult times of life. Dr. Pat Purcell, a local Palliative Care Consultant and voluntary clinical advisor to the hospice project said: “The new hospice unit will meet an urgent need in our community – many patients currently have to travel long distances to get the care they need. The hospice is ideally located, near the borders of Ceredigion, Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire, to serve a large number of local people.

Both myself and the palliative care team look forward to collaborative working with the staff at Skanda Vale Hospice.” The equivalent of 5 palliative nursing jobs will be created – though the hospice is unique in that all support staff are fully qualified unpaid volunteers. Brother Michael said: “Skanda Vale Hospice is run by volunteers, so our overheads are far less than similar sized organisations. More than 94p in every £1 donated can be invested in patient care.We’d like to thank our local community for all their support over the years. This hospice is for the people of Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire. We want to encourage people to get excited about this amazing project and come and be a part of it.”

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