A multi-million pound new hospice could be on the horizon for Norfolk and Waveney as Priscilla Bacon Lodge will look to expand into a new location in the Norwich area.
The news comes as former Norfolk Community Foundation chief executive Graham Tuttle is announced as Priscilla Bacon Hospice's new chief executive on a part-time basis.
Priscilla Bacon Hospice is a new charity set up to expand palliative care in Norfolk.
With the population of Norfolk and Waveney rising, they said there is an 'urgent need' to update and expand end of life provision in the region.
The ambition to relocate to a new site which will allow extra beds to be built and is expected to cost more than £12m.
To ensure the project succeeds, The Rt Revd Graham James, Bishop of Norwich and Chair of the Trustees of Priscilla Bacon Norfolk Hospice Care Ltd, has announced two new appointments.
Graham Tuttle, who recently stepped down as chief executive of Norfolk Community Foundation, will take the role of chief executive, while Howard Wheeldon will be joining the charity as director of fundraising.
'These appointments are key to ensuring we achieve our objective of developing and enhancing end of life care and palliative services with the county,' said Bishop Graham.
'Graham has been a brilliantly successful Chief Executive of Norfolk Community Foundation and knows the county well. He is also both personally and professionally committed to seeing the new Priscilla Bacon Hospice established and will provide strong leadership as the charity grows in the coming years.
'Howard's appointment is also a key one for the organisation as we look to develop partnerships and funding opportunities to support the building of a new hospice to replace Priscilla Bacon Lodge.
'The original hospice was built by Norfolk people and it is our generation's turn to replace the building with one which offers even more to those with life threatening illnesses and their families in our county.'
Commenting on his appointment Mr Tuttle said: 'This is a very exciting and much needed project for the county and I'm delighted to have been asked to play a part in helping the new charity achieve its objectives. The planned new development will offer more inpatient beds for palliative care and other ancillary services to help Norfolk, a county seriously underprovided in palliative care provision.'
Mr Wheeldon added: 'The Priscilla Bacon Lodge has a proud heritage of bringing peace, dignity and vital support to thousands of families across Norfolk. The new charity will continue to build upon this wonderful legacy by greatly enhancing the community impact and capabilities of the organisation for many years to come. I am genuinely excited to be joining such an important endeavour.'
A recent report on 'Current and Future needs for Hospice Care' predicted that in the next decade the UK will see a dramatic increase in the number of older people, which consequently impacts on the number of people who need palliative care.
Priscilla Bacon Hospice said in its 'Firm Foundations' document - setting out the need for a new site: 'Not only will the service have to cope with additional numbers of people living in the area, but also the increasing complexity of care needs of a population which is living longer than ever. Consequently, there is an urgent need to update and improve Norfolk's end of life care provision to meet these demands.
'To do this, we need to expand the current specialist palliative care provision for people in Norfolk. The move to a new location outside of Norwich will enable the charity to offer a greater number of beds and wider range of day care and out-patient services. The new Priscilla Bacon Hospice will be the most modern palliative care facility in the region.'
The total number of deaths in Norfolk and Waveney in 2015 was 10,615, of which 7,380 are estimated to have required palliative care.
Priscilla Bacon Centre for Specialist Palliative Care provides care to people from across Norfolk. The current service is managed by Norfolk Community NHS Trust who are continuing to lead developments across the Norfolk Health and Social Care system to improve palliative and end of life care for patients and families of Norfolk.
NCHC Chief Executive, Roisin Fallon-Williams, said: 'NCHC have worked closely with the PBL Support Group and with trustees of the Priscilla Bacon Hospice Charity reviewing the future Hospice Design and we are supportive of this development as it anticipates the growing needs of the community.
'Meanwhile, our Specialist Palliative and enhanced palliative care teams continue to offer flexible and responsive services that give people access to a range of high quality palliative care, whenever and wherever they are needed.
'We do this through the specialist inpatient unit, the Specialist Day unit The Rowan Centre, the Community Specialist Palliative Care Team, which often works in people's homes or places or residence across the county, and Our Care at Home Teams who provide hands-on care to patients within Central Norfolk.'
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