Could you help us raise £45,000 to furnish a brand new accommodation build for young adults?

Since we opened our Children’s Service 21 years ago, the needs of the young people we care for have changed. Demand for our service increases every year as more babies survive with complex needs and more children with progressive conditions live beyond their 18th birthday. Quite simply, we are running out of space and there are few alternative appropriate short break services in our region for children or young adults with progressive, life-limiting conditions.

Donate to our appeal

A new, dedicated space for our young adults to gain independence

Our dream for several years has been to build a dedicated, self-contained, age appropriate service for young adults aged 18+ who may not have needed Hospice care during their childhood. Young people with progressive conditions who are referred to our service in early adulthood have expressed reluctance to access short breaks in (what they perceive as) a ‘Children’s service.’ Unfortunately, their only alternative is respite within a nursing home for the elderly.

As more and more children with life-limiting conditions survive beyond their 18th birthday it is vital that we do all we can to support their transition into the fullest and most rewarding adult life possible. Funds have been raised to start work on a brand new two bedroom facility on our Gosforth site, separate to the existing Children’s Unit. It has been designed so that the Young Adults can experience more ‘independent living’ with the reassurance that our clinical staff are on hand when needed. This, we hope, will help some of our young adults, and their families, to get a taste of independent living and to develop the necessary confidence to consider a move from the family home into other independent living settings if/when the time is appropriate

Donate to our appeal

Check out the mock-ups of our Young Adults Accommodation build…

 

3D Front and Rear view

3D Front and Rear view
Interior plan of our new Young Adults Accommodation

Interior plan of our new Young Adults Accommodation
3D Front and Rear view
Interior plan of our new Young Adults Accommodation

1 of 2

Help us transform our Young Adults Accommodation…

Building work on this exciting project is now underway. But while funds are in place for the build and to landscape the gardens, we now need to raise money to fit out and furnish it, making sure it’s not only a safe and functional space, but warm, inviting and a home from home for the young adults.

With the support of our community, we hope to raise £45,000 to turn our Young Adults Accommodation from a blank canvas shell into a fully functioning haven to cultivate independence.

Thank you, so much, for your kind support of our work, our patients and our families.

Target: £45,000

Raised: £3,145

Thank you for your support.

Donate to our appeal

How your donation will make a difference...

The first spade was put into the ground last month and we expect the build to continue into early autumn. But then the hard work really begins! With its own entrance, separate garden area and living space, two bedrooms and a bathroom, the accommodation’s empty shell will be transformed, as all of the finishing touches are added to make the space fulfil the needs of those who will stay there. All the money raised through this appeal will directly benefit the young people who will stay with us in this new facility, both now and into the future.

- Jane Hamblin, Head of Facilities at St Oswald's Hospice

With your support, there are two different types of items we hope to fund. Let us tell you a little more about them and how your gift to fund them will make a huge difference:

 

1. The important equipment needed to make the space safe and functional…

While we want our new accommodation to be a home from home environment, there are certain vital pieces of medical equipment that are required to make the young adults’ stay at the hospice safe and secure. Here are some of the things your donation will fund…

Hoists are a vital piece of equipment that allow safe moving and handling of both adults and children whilst minimising the risk of injury to our staff too. We use them throughout all our inpatient services where rooms have ceiling track hoist systems installed, meaning that those with physical disabilities can be safely moved from bed to wheelchair, physiotherapy couch or bathroom.

To ensure our new Young Adult Accommodation is fully accessible and safe, we will need to install a range of hoists and tracking systems throughout the building. This includes an air rise hoist system for each of the two bedrooms, a monorail track system leading to the shower room and a bathroom hoist. These fixed hoists have several benefits over mobile hoists.

Medical gases are an essential tool to help our staff support young adults who have respiratory issues. The piped oxygen and suction also allow us to maintain a safe environment and are reassuring to parents should we need to intervene during a time of unexpected deterioration. Our new building will need pipework installed to allow the gases and suction to be available throughout.

Our young adults have a range of complex conditions and may require many different types of medication to be taken. Having lockable, easily accessible storage for this medical is essential, meaning it always close to hand and secure. Each of our two bedrooms will have it’s own lockable cabinet, and we require an additional one for the drugs store room.

2. The home comforts needed to make the space cosy, comfortable and welcoming

While the medical equipment is vital for safety and addressing the young adult’s clinical needs, it’s just as important that the new accommodation is warm, welcoming and a home from home. We need to fund all of the regular things you might have in your own house, but with a few adjustments here and there. Your donation will help kit out our empty shell and make it ready for our first guests. Here are some of the things your donation will fund…

Every house has a comfy chair, the one everyone fights to get to first. And stretching out on a sofa is something our young adults tell us they enjoy on their visits to Bendrigg residential activity centre. We’d love to furnish the new accommodation with a sofa that suits the young adults needs, while being perfect to snuggle up on.

The new building is all about promoting independence and giving the young adults their own space, away from the main children’s unit. A fully kitted out kitchen will be a place to eat, drink, prepare snacks and catch up. We need all of the usual items such as a microwave, crockery, cups and glassware and a kettle, as well as some adapted items such as easy-grip cutlery and drinking cups, that the young adults can use to feed themselves.

It’s important we use the space in the unit wisely, and we don’t want large pieces of furniture cluttering up the rooms. A handy table for the young adults is one on wheels, which can be moved around the building and can slide over them when in bed for easy access.

We also need a small table with four chairs, for our care team’s meetings which will take place in the unit at staff handover times, plus two office chairs.

Our building’s fresh new walls will be the perfect blank canvas for some beautiful artwork, to add interest and colour to the communal spaces. Our young adults are all individuals but one thing they all have in common is being from the North East. We would love to have some frames and art prints showing off our beautiful region, in the lounge and corridors.

Additional small furniture items and storage, bedding, lighting and accessories are all required to put the finishing touches to our brand new Young Adults Accommodation

Meet Edward…

Edward McMahon is 20, from Hexham and has been coming St Oswald’s Hospice for short breaks since 2010. He has multiple life-limiting conditions including a severe form of epilepsy, Microcephaly and Global Development Delay, which has prevented him from doing things like walking and talking. As one of the young people who will benefit from this appeal, Edward joined us on site to see the Young Adults Accommodation build get underway.

 

CYA 21st Holly (CYA Matron) with Edward McMahon (20, Hexham) (1)

Talking about the difference the new Young Adults Accommodation will make to her family, Edward’s Mum, Sarah said:

“The new Young Adults Accommodation is so important because there are very few places for young adults like Edward to go. Some of the young adults might end up in old people’s residential homes, which is not great for them – or the other residents.

“Edward really enjoys his time at St Oswald’s Hospice, and it means that when he comes for short breaks, I can relax, and I don’t worry because I know he’s being so well taken care of. This new accommodation will make such a difference to Edward’s independence.”

Donate to our appeal

Thank you for letting us tell you a little more about our exciting new project and how it will benefit our young adults.

As you will have discovered, our new accommodation is so much more than just a building – it will offer security, comfort and a place to grow independence for the young people that we support.

Donate to our appeal