Bury Hospice is a highly-regarded and well-loved organisation and the care it provides is, without exception, utterly compassionate and of the highest standards.
However, our inpatient unit of five beds is currently the smallest inpatient unit in the United Kingdom and, since 1991, has maintained the only inpatient beds dedicated for palliative care in Bury.
Physical constraints of the existing building can also make it difficult to admit patients who need specialist equipment such as large wheelchairs.
There have, unfortunately, been occasions when we have not been able to admit patients for in-patient care.
In 2006, the Greater Manchester and Cheshire Cancer Network undertook a Palliative Care Needs Assessment (The Dearden Report) which identified the need for palliative care beds, based on the size of population, in Bury. It suggested nine cancer and five non-cancer beds were needed.
Even when considering the number patients now cared for in their own homes via our Hospice @Home service, at best, Bury Hospice is currently only able to offer 10 of those 14 needed beds
A larger and bespoke building will allow us to deliver our care to more in-patients with a wide range of diagnoses and to offer day and out patients a more diverse service which can be tailored to each individual patient’s needs.
