Today the Gazette & Herald joins forces with the Prospect Hospice to raise £75,000 for an outpatient centre at Savernake Hospital in Marlborough.

Patients from the Marlborough and Pewsey area will be able to receive day treatment including physiotherapy and occupational therapy right on their doorstep instead of travelling to Wroughton, near Swindon. 

The hospice has already secured a £125,000 grant from an anonoymous supporterand plans are well under way to open the unit next June.

Negotiations have been ongoing between the Wroughton-based charity and Great Western Hospitals Trust, which owns Savernake Hospital, over the last year and an agreement was signed in August. 

Prospect chief executive Angela Jordan said: “What the Gazette is doing is helping to spread the word which is great. I am confident that local people will respond very positively to the news that our care will be closer at hand and support our appeal towards this exciting new development.” 

Guy Rooney, medical director at the Great Western Hospitals Foundation Trust, said: “We are delighted to be working with Prospect Hospice to bring end of life care closer to home for patients and families in and around Marlborough. 

“The service will make a massive difference to local people and is just one of the ways we are making care more accessible to people across Wiltshire.” 

People in Marlborough are being asked to support the six-month appeal. There will be collection boxes across the area and organisers hope people will organise fundraising events. 

As well as Wroughton, Prospect has a palliative care team at the Great Western Hospital in Swindon. But this is the charity’s first outpatient centre. 

MP Claire Perry said: “I’m delighted that GWH and Prospect Hospice are working together to provide much needed facilities and support for people with end-of-life care needs, and their families, and in particular that the much-cherished Savernake Hospital will be providing vital services for so many local people.”

HOW TO DONATE

There are lots of ways you can help reach our £75,000 target to make the outpatient centre at Savernake Hospital a reality.

You can organise an event at a school, shop, office, pub or club or in your home. You might even want to do sponsored run or just bake some cakes in exchange for donations.

Tell us what you are doing and we’ll make sure we publicise it.

It doesn’t matter how large or small the event or donation, we want to hear about it. Every penny raised counts.

Contact Anna Mauremootoo on (01225) 773607 or email her at amauremootoo@newswilts.co.uk

You can also donate direct to Prospect at Prospect Savernake Appeal, Moormead Road, Wroughton, Swindon SN49BY.

You can also take along a donation in person to one of the Prospect shops in Marlborough, Pewsey or Hungerford.

You can also donate by calling Prospect on (01793) 816161 or by clicking here.