The £1.1m refurbishment of ACCORD Hospice Inpatient Unit is opened

It is not always possible for people to be cared for at home and hospice inpatient beds are vital for people who require intensive support for complex needs, or for those individuals who wish their end of life care at ACCORD. On Tuesday 24^th of July, ACCORD Hospice will be re-opening the doors to patients and families after 25 weeks with the £1.1m refurbishment project now complete. In order to ensure Hospice services continued throughout this refurbishment we have been offering inpatient care at a temporary location within Renfrewshire’s Adult Social Work facility, Montrose Residential Care Home in Foxbar. This has allowed staff to ensure our patients and their families receive the same standard of care they would have done at our site in Hawkhead. We wish to thank our partners for this assistance which embodies health and social care integration at its best.

Our facility had been in need of modernising with the last major improvements taking place in 1997. We have always remained encouraged by the very positive feedback from patients and their families about the care they receive; however, changing needs of patients suggested that the Hospice needed to improve our physical environment. Our staff, provided tremendous feedback on how the Hospice could design and equip the Unit to meet the complex and diverse needs of our patients, which are anticipated to increase in the future.

Utilising the existing footprint of the Unit, the Hospice worked closely with McLean’s Architects and local building contractors Clark Contracts to create a modern yet homely environment which complements the delivery of specialist palliative and end of life care. We can’t thank everyone enough who has been involved in the project from the beginning – we are delighted that our vision has been delivered in a timely and precise manner.

This exciting development of the Hospice facility has provided eight single rooms with en-suite wet rooms, ‘French doors’ leading to individual patio and communal garden areas. Providing a fresh, modern and flexible design approach to décor – the Hospice was able to focus on bringing the outdoors, indoor. 

Further improvements to heating and lighting we hope will support patients to experience those precious moments with their families in a more comfortable setting.

Not only has the physical environment of our Inpatient Unit been upgraded; but, the equipment and facilities at the disposal of our nurses and medical staff has improved. State of the art hoists, beds, chairs and other care equipment will ensure the safety, comfort and wellbeing of patients and assist our staff deliver high quality palliative and end of life care to patients  and families living with a life limiting illness.

We are enormously grateful to the people in our communities who have worked so hard and have given so generously over the 36 years ACCORD Hospice has been part of the community. It is because of this generosity we had sufficient reserves to invest funds towards the comprehensive refurbishment of the In Patient Unit.

We feel confident that our supporters will be pleased to see all their efforts put to such good use.

Helen Simpson, ACCORD Chief Executive – ”I am thrilled and delighted with the outcome of this challenging but exciting project. The feedback received from patients, families, volunteers, supporters and staff during our ‘open sessions’ supports that we have achieved our aim of having a modern, functional yet homely healthcare environment in which to care for patients and families living with  a life limiting illness.”

We passionately believe that the people in our community should be able to access the care and support they need at the end of their life in an environment which ensures privacy, dignity and comfort. This work has been a major investment in the future of our caring services which really raises the standard for patients and their families at ACCORD Hospice.

Clark Contracts – Gerry Cummins, Director – ”As a local company that has supported the ACCORD Hospice through various fundraising activities over the years, it has been fantastic for us to be working with them as a customer. We hope these improvement works allow them to continue to deliver the incredible work they do.”