Improved hospice day care after service gets new home

PATIENTS WITH debilitating illnesses will get an improved care after the relocation of a day service in North Yorkshire.

Around 250 patients a year from Ryedale use the day hospice which will now operate from Malton Hospital after the service was moved from Deansfield Court in Norton.

Typically they suffer from problems including heart failure, lung disease, multiple sclerosis, cancer and Parkinson’s disease.

Officials from the Scarborough-based St Catherine’s Hospice say it will give patients better access to GPs, district nurses and other NHS staff.

The service, which runs every Monday, offers pain and symptom management and control, a range of therapies and consultations with specialist staff, as well as meals, opportunities to meet others and respite for carers.

Mike Proctor, deputy chief executive at York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust which manages Malton Hospital, said: “It is important that Malton Hospital is used to its full potential and we are pleased to be able to work with Saint Catherine’s Hospice to provide this facility for the benefit of people in Ryedale.”

The move follows funding from the Wilfred Jackson Trust, set up last year in memory of the local builder and property developer, and Malton, Norton & District Hospital League of Friends.

Ann Harper, director of patient services at the hospice, said: “We are very grateful to the Wilfred Jackson Trust and to the Friends of Malton Hospital for their generous donations which have enabled this relocation and done a great deal to help provide improved palliative care services for the people of Ryedale.”