Friends and family of Hospiscare patients can now stay overnight in a self-contained accommodation near to their loved ones – in ‘The Lodge’ next to the hospice’s eight-bed ward.
Steve Race MP officially opened the new inpatient visitor accommodation, within the hospice grounds at Exeter’s Searle House.
The Exeter MP visited ‘The Lodge’, hospice ward, and chapel, and joined in with a group session focused on patient transition from paediatric to adult care.
Steve said: “I was really happy to help officially open this wonderful new space for families of people being cared for at Hospiscare, made possible through funding from the Department of Health and Social Care.
“Having stayed at a children’s hospice with my family during my sister’s life, I know how important The Lodge will be for families who want to be close by their loved ones who are in the care of Hospicecare. This new space means families won’t need to travel in every day, or stay in a hotel, and provides a truly welcoming and comfortable environment, offering vital support for those in need.”
‘The Lodge’ is a self-contained, two-bed annexe, and includes a kitchen, walk-in shower room, two bedrooms, lounge, and a small private garden. It has been built with funding secured from a Department of Health and Social Care Capital Project grant of £898,600, given to Hospiscare across 2024/2026.
The grant is part of a government scheme providing £125m to hospices throughout England for capital projects – long-term work to buildings, assets, and equipment.
Interim CEO for Hospiscare, Wayne Gale, said: “We’re incredibly grateful for this funding for ‘The Lodge’, which has enabled us to provide families of our ward patients, who might not live locally, to stay close-by in a private, comfortable, and welcoming space – while their loved ones receive specialist palliative care within our in-patient unit.
“We’ve also been able to put a number of cost saving measures in place, as a result of the grant, to help us manage spiralling energy costs, and secure more spend for providing our outstanding patient care services.”
The Department of Health and Social Care Capital Project funding grant has also been used to support Hospiscare’s community patients by purchasing three electric cars for their community nursing and rapid response teams; improving energy efficiency with new LED lighting across their sites; new fire alarm system and entrance doors at Searle House; and new software applications for their nursing teams.
Steve Race MP officially opened ‘The Lodge’ with a red ribbon cutting ceremony.
He then held a Q&A session with the Hospiscare team, where key topics were discussed, including adapting the hospice environment to enhance patient and family experiences; supporting people to remain in their homes; and the important outreach work Hospiscare does with St Petroc’s to support vulnerable people within the community.
Hospiscare provides specialist palliative and end-of-life care for more than 2,000 patients, and their families, every year across Exeter, central and east Devon. The charity delivers care in people’s homes, on its specialist ward, through outpatient clinics, and through wellbeing and bereavement support services.
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