PLANS to build an extension to Willen Hospice have been submitted to Milton Keynes Council.
The hospice is to hold a series of information sessions, starting next week, to outline its plans to neighbours and the wider community.
The aim to extend the hospice by Willen Lake to give the space to grow its services, ensure the hospice is fit for purpose for a growing population, and keep pace with 21st-century hospice care.
The development has been made possible thanks to the legacy donations of hospice supporters, who determined their gifts should be used to improve the Willen Hospice to serve the community for future generations.
Chief executive Peta Wilkinson said: “This is a really exciting time for Willen Hospice and for Milton Keynes as a whole. The legacy gifts we have been left are enabling us to invest in our local community and provide something that will benefit local people for years to come.
“The extension will create flexible spaces that we can use in a range of ways to suit our patients’ needs, and those of their families. It will allow us to care for a wider range of illnesses, and give us the opportunity to care for our patients much earlier in their palliative journey, rather than at the very end.”
The hospice is hosting a series of information drop-in sessions for people to find out more about their plans.
- October 15, 6pm
- October 17, 10am
- October 22, 3.30pm
- October 24, 6pm
More than half of the funding for the £4 million extension will be met by supporter legacies. The hospice will meet the remainder of the costs through its reserve funds and applications to trusts and foundations.
Building is expected to begin early next year, with the extension opening in spring 2021.
Ms Wilkinson said: “We believe that the care you receive at the end of your life should be as good as that you get at the start. We want to do all we can to help our growing population by supporting and caring for them so they can spend their time in a rich and meaningful way.”
