Duchess gets work started on charity HQ (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

Duchess gets work started on charity HQ

The Duchess of Beaufort cuts the first sod along with Paddy Stewart, chairman of the Trustees, site manager Paul Thompson and Hemmings director Nigel Cramp (17540)WORK has started on an exciting new development that will improve facilities for terminally ill patients and their carers at Dorothy House Hospice.

The £2m project will provide a new outpatient wing and education department for the Winsley-based hospice, which offers support to more than 800 families affected by cancer, motor neurone disease and other life-threatening conditions.

Hospice patron, the Duchess of Beaufort, cut the first turf at a ceremony to mark the official start of the project on Thursday.

The new outpatient wing will house two complementary therapy rooms, a lymphoedema clinic and a special physiotherapy unit to keep patients mobile throughout their illness.

Outpatients will also benefit from a new multi-faith chapel and a larger day care room, where creative therapies such as card-making, silk painting and flower arranging will take place.

A group room will also be built where bereaved teenagers and widowers can receive extra support from the Bath-based counselling group CRUSE.

The new education wing will provide a learning space to educate carers and update GPs and nurses with information about symptom-control for terminally-ill patients.

Dorothy House chief executive Sarah Whitfield said she was excited about the new development and the benefits for hospice patients.

She said: "During the design stage we consulted with our patients on the layout of the outpatient wing. They had input into the colour scheme and other elements of the design.

"We are grateful to the architects for being so patient with us during that process and for enabling our patients to have a real say in the final design."

Edwin Hill, of Bristol-based architects O'Leary and Goss, said: "Our primary concern was to preserve and enhance the therapeutic ambience of the rural setting at Winsley."

The foundations of the two new wings have already been laid and building work is due to be completed by August 2006.

The project will be funded by a private appeal that is being supported by donors, charitable trusts and private companies.