Delight as hospice building appeal nears its £3m target

They money for Kirkwood Hospice in Huddersfield is from the Department of Health.

The Hospice, at Dalton, is in the middle of a project to extend and refurbish its in-patient unit.

The £508,000 brings the Hospice much closer to its £3m Capital Appeal target, which was launched in January last year.

The under-construction 16-bed facility at Dalton should be ready for patients in the summer.

During building work, patients are being cared for at Huddersfield Royal Infirmary.

A spokesman for the Hospice welcomed the Government grant, saying it took the Capital Appeal total to £2.7m.

He said: “The new 16-bed unit will be a brand new wing with state-of-the-art facilities. There will be terraces and personal rooms.

“The £508,000 takes the Capital Appeal to £2.7m, so we are really getting there.”

Colne Valley Conservative MP Jason McCartney welcomed the Government money.

He is a supporter of Kirkwood Hospice and Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice, also in Huddersfield.

“I wrote in support of Kirkwood’s bid to the Department of Health. Some might think that hospices don’t get much Government money, but there are funds for capital grants towards infrastructure projects.”

He said capital funding for hospice projects had increased and now stood at £60m a year.

Mr McCartney recently asked about hospice funding at Prime Minister’s Questions.

Prime Minister David Cameron said the Government was continuing to support hospices for children and for adults.

Kirkwood Hospice was established in 1987 by a group of local people who identified a need for specialist care for people with life-threatening illnesses.

The hospice does not charge for its services, instead relying on the generosity of people and businesses in the Kirklees area.

Hospice staff provide care in people’s homes but some patients require pain and symptom control as an in-patient.

For information on the appeal, contact Kirkwood Hospice on 01484 557911. Or visit www.capitalappeal.org