Hospice plea for help over £1.5m revamp
A HOSPICE which provides vital support to life-limited children is set to take on a £1.5m refurbishment project – but it needs your help.
Ty Hafan, based in Sully, Vale of Glamorgan, has unveiled plans for a significant renovation to give its young patients a hospice “fit for the future”.
Beginning in the new year to coincide with its 20th anniversary, the revamp will focus on making vital clinical adaptations to the building as well as upgrading its 10 care bedrooms, eight family bedrooms, living and social areas.
The charity also wants to install a wireless nurse call system and airconditioning in children’s bedrooms.
But the hospice is still well short of the money it needs to carry out all the upgrades.
Ty Hafan’s CEO Rob Jones said: “It was a groundbreaking moment when Ty Hafan opened its doors 20 years ago in 1999. It’s unbelievable to think that before then Wales didn’t have a children’s hospice.
“Two decades later, after being used 365 days a year and providing essential around-the-clock care to over 840 life-limited children and families in Wales, it’s no surprise that the building needs refurbishment.”
As well as being appointed the charity’s CEO in 2017, Rob Jones is a Ty Hafan dad and has been visiting the hospice for eight years with his daughter, Poppy.
He said: “There have been significant advances in medicine and clinical technology over the last 20 years and we have worked tirelessly to stay on top of these changes, but the needs of the children and their families are becoming ever more complex,” said Mr Jones.
“Life-limited children are living longer because of the expert care available to them, so we need to keep pace with the changing world of healthcare and refurbish our equipment, facilities and overall environment to meet demands and continue providing the best possible care.”
Phase one of the project is due to start in January 2020, undertaken by contractors Knox and Wells, and will prioritise refurbishing vital areas, such as the living spaces and bedrooms – creating a therapeutic, purpose-led environment throughout.
Phase two, which will begin later in 2020, will focus on refurbishing the additional areas of the hospice, like the “transition hub” for the older service-users who are approaching graduation age (14-18), and the bathrooms throughout.
As well as providing a brighter and more cheerful “beach hut” theme throughout, architects Capita have paid particular attention to making essential clinical adaptations to the hospice.
Key features include infection-controlled flooring, providing more space for nurses to prepare medicine for children, optimising space and ensuring facilities are as accessible as possible for children with various complex conditions.
Families cared for by Ty Hafan were also consulted in the planning stages and given the opportunity to feed into the refurbishment plans.
Some of their views included giving the communal lounge and living areas a greater sense of privacy while retaining the approachable and welcoming aesthetic, and also creating a more homely and comfortable feel in the family bedrooms, all of which have been incorporated into the plans.
Ty Hafan has already had a successful head-start in its fundraising journey thanks to charitable trusts, grants and also the charity’s annual ball. Collectively, this has taken their current total to more than £500,000.
But the appeal requires a further £1m to complete both phases of the refurbishment.
With the hospice relying on charitable donations, Ty Hafan needed to launch its fundraising appeal, called Fit For Future, publicly. It has already garnered the support of Gavin & Stacey star Ruth Jones, who is a big advocate of the charity.
The appeal will run for six months, into the New Year, to help fund the entire refurbishment project.
This is in addition to the £4.4m the charity requires annually to continue providing the life-changing free care to life-limited children and their families, at the hospice and out in the community.
Mr Jones added: “The people of Wales came together to build Ty Hafan, the first children’s hospice in Wales, back in 1999 and raised £1m without any government funding.
“We’re asking people in Wales to come together again for Ty Hafan, 20 years later.”
For more information about Ty Hafan’s appeal, to make a donation and to watch the full video explaining the refurbishment project featuring CEO Rob Jones, visit www.tyhafan.org/fitforfuture