Hospice to be handed to HSE in coming weeks
AFTER a decade of tireless fundraising, the new Wicklow Hospice building will be handed over to the HSE in the coming weeks, then fitting out will commence to prepare the facility for patients.
It is expected that the hospice will be ready to operate early in 2020, with Our Ladies Hospice the governing body.
OLH has facilities in Blackrock and Harold’s Cross and many years of expertise in end of life care. The hospice will have 15 beds and will be a hub for athome care services for County Wicklow.
Hospice patron, journalist Valerie Cox, is looking for volunteers to help with the gardens at the Magheramore hospice.
Anyone interested in rolling up their sleeves can send an email to sinead@ wicklowhospice.ie.
The running costs will run to €4 million per year, which will be funded by the HSE.
‘ There will still be fundraising needs ongoing, for things like holistic therapies, gardens and anything not a direct running cost,’ said spokeswoman Sinead Tarmey.
She said that the goodwill from the community has been phenomenal over the past 10 years, with donations including an anonymous €1 million, as well as al of the people who bought raffle tickets, attended events, left sums in wills, ran fundraisers, and helped in any way.
The Columban sisters saved the foundation several years of fundraising, with the donation of a site at Magheramore.
‘We would have had to fundraise for a site before we even started thinking about a building,’ said Sinead.
The total cost of the build is €9 million, which currently includes a bridging loan of €2.7 million.
The remaining money has been collected from within the community as well as funding from the state.
‘ The people of Wicklow have made the hospice possible,’ said Sinead.
With fundraising ongoing, tickets are now available for Wicklow’s Got Talent for Wicklow Hospice, taking place in the Arklow Bay Hotel on Saturday,
November 23,
Tickets are €15 or €5 for a child. The winners stand to win prizes of €500, €300 or €200, for first, second and third prizes.
Tickets are available at itsplainsailing. com. at the Arklow Bay, or by calling Sinead on 087 0954137. There will be no tickets available on the door.
Co Wicklow Public Participation Network is inviting community groups and individuals to talk about housing and accommodation issues in the county.
The group will be hosting a seminar later this month in order to hear about the experiences of people in relation to housing and accommodation issues and how they have impacted on people’s lives. These experiences will then inform the PPN community representatives that sit on the Wicklow County Council Strategic Policy Committees and the Wicklow Elected Representatives so they can confidently advocate on behalf of people and communities.
Colette Bennet from Social Justice Ireland will facilitate the discussions.
The seminar will take place at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, November 20, in the Taylor Centre, Vevay Road, Bray. Booking is required so anyone who would like to attend should email countywicklowppn@gmail.com or call Helen on 087 1895145 or Grainne on 086 0487434