About Rix and Kay

St Wilfrid’s Hospice is a local charity providing skilled and compassionate care to patients from the age of 18 with life-limiting illnesses. For the past 25 years, St Wilfrid’s Hospice has provided dedicated service to patients and their families right across the localities of Eastbourne, Uckfield, Heathfield, Hailsham, Polegate, Pevensey and Seaford. With hospice care given entirely free, it is limited only by resources, on which the demands are huge as the Hospice only receives 15% of funding from the NHS. Therefore, St Wilfrid’s is reliant on voluntary contributions, legacies and other charitable support. A single In-patient bed costs £2,500 a week to provide and to offer all of the services it costs £9315 a day. This year the running costs will be £3.4 million.

New hospice plans:
It was recently announced that a new 15 bed hospice will be built on the current Mill Gap Road site in Eastbourne, enabling St Wilfrid’s to care for almost twice as many patients each year.

What will this provide?
•    15 single en-suite bedrooms
•    A Day Therapy Clinic with treatment, counselling and group rooms
•    A conference room, library and IT training room
•    Large open plan offices for clinical staff
•    A chapel and place of peaceful sanctuary
•    Underground parking for approximately 30 cars

When will building start and how long will it take?
Building is expected to start in June 2009 and to take at least 18 months.  In the interim there will be no interruption to any of the quality services provided by St Wilfrid’s Hospice.  Although the inpatient beds and Day Therapy Clinic will be relocated, patients and the families will continue to be looked after by the caring and compassionate staff.   
 
How much will the new hospice cost?
It will cost £8.5 million to build and furnish the new hospice.  Much of the capital will come from our carefully saved reserves; however there is a £2 million shortfall that will need to be met.  As a charity St Wilfrid’s depend on support from the community to raise these vital funds.