St Ann’s Hospice launches public appeal to fund new facility

Stockport-based St Ann’s Hospice has launched its ‘Build it Together’ appeal to urge local people to help raise the final £2 million needed to deliver a brand-new facility to provide end-of-life care in the town.

Work on the £20 million building on in Heald Green is set to begin later this year, and the hospice charity is calling on the public to help fundraise the remaining money needed to get the project over the line. Once complete, the new hospice hopes to be among the UK’s largest and most modern facilities for end-of-life care and replace the 150-year-old building currently used by the charity.

The current St Ann’s hospice building is no longer fit for purpose with limited air-flow, many small rooms, low natural light levels and narrow corridors. The new bright and airy hospice building will help St Ann’s transform care and quality of life for palliative and end of life care patients across Greater Manchester.

Without the new facility, hospice services in the area may be forced to close. St Ann’s is hoping that the public will get behind the campaign so that construction can start later in the year and actors Lee Boardman and Jennifer James are among those backing the urgent appeal to fund the project.

Lee Boardman said:

“Losing St Ann’s Hospice is unthinkable. It’s been at the heart of the community for over 50 years, ready to help.  I honestly never thought my family would need their support, but I’m so glad they were there for us when we needed them.”

Lee and his family reached out to St Ann’s for support eight years ago.  His sister Mandy died of cancer in January 2014 and his younger sister, Suzy, was dying of secondaries from breast cancer at the same time. He continued:

“My family went through an unimaginable time of heartbreak.

“Within weeks of losing Mandy, Suzy degenerated to the point where she just couldn’t live at home on her own. She urgently needed more specialist care and support than we, her family, could provide. I’d grown up in Stockport so thankfully we’d heard of St Ann’s Hospice.

“I was in such a state of high anxiety and emotion but we just rocked up and I begged them to help Suzy.  They were amazing and literally, within four hours, St Ann’s had lifted the weight that we’d been carrying for so long off­ our shoulders.

“We felt – and still feel – forever indebted to St Ann’s, and, although it took a long time to heal from the losses I suffered, I said that I’d literally do anything I could in return for the support they gave my family.  When I heard recently that St Ann’s urgently needs to build a new hospice, I had to step in to help.

“We have to save St Ann’s ? the bottom line is, without a modern new hospice, the care and support my family received simply might not be available to other local families in the future.”

The ambitious £21.5 million project will see the current outdated building on St Ann’s Road North replaced with a purpose-built modern facility on land adjacent to the current site, and the charity is hoping that members of the local community will help them raise the £2 million they need to make it a reality.

Rachel McMillan, the hospice’s chief executive, said:

“It was only thanks to the community of Greater Manchester that, fifty one years ago, St Ann’s was able to first open the doors to Manchester’s hospice. Now, as we prepare for the next phase in the history of specialist palliative and end of life care in the area, we are appealing to that community again to support the building of their new hospice. 

“We know it’s a big ask, but that same community has always been here for us – we never take that for granted, and we’re proud to have such deep roots in the areas we serve across Greater Manchester.  Every donation, however big or small; every pledge to help us, it all really will make a difference. Not just now, but for future generations of local families too.”

The building will comprise a 27-bed inpatient unit including 21 en-suite bedrooms with access to private outdoor terraces.  It will also feature modern outpatient and day therapy services, dedicated bereavement and family support spaces, offices, a café which will be open to the public, landscaped gardens and improved car parking. Designs also incorporate the latest green initiatives including a green roof, PC panelling and grey water solutions; the car park will have electric charging points and plentiful room for bicycles.

It will also be home to the only non-university immersive healthcare training suite in the area, with integrated technology and the capacity to simulate real life scenarios.  This will allow experts from St Ann’s to share their specialist knowledge with other organisations and help drive excellence in palliative and end of life care both locally and nationally. Rachel said:

“In Greater Manchester we’re used to doing things differently and leading the way.  We’re proud that we provide world-class hospice care from right here in this amazing city, and as the needs of patients change, we need to evolve too to make sure we can continue to give them the truly personalised care that they deserve.

“We simply can’t continue to care for local people in our current building.  It is no longer fit for purpose and we’re in real danger of having to close services in the near future if we don’t complete this project.

“We support people at all stages of their life-limiting illness, and if we weren’t here, those patients simply wouldn’t be able to access local, specialist care.  At a time which for many is one of the most vulnerable in their life, that’s unthinkable.”

The hospice is asking individuals, businesses and others locally to make a donation, or get in touch to find out more and pledge their support to help raise the £2million needed.

To make a donation now, please visit the charity’s website, text LETSBUILDIT to 70085 to give £20 or call 0161 498 3631.