'Mum's wish to see hospice built finally a reality'

The son of a campaigner who spent two decades trying to get a hospice built in an underserved area said she would have been "delighted" to finally see spades in the ground.

Jonathan Chadd's late mother Margaret was instrumental in raising funds for a hospice to serve communities along the east coast of Norfolk and Suffolk since 2000.

More than 20 years later, the groundwork she helped begin has finally paid off, and a 16-bed home is currently under construction in Gorleston-on-Sea.

Chadd said seeing spades in the ground was "absolutely tremendous", having promised to see the project through following Margaret's death in 2018, at the age of 96.

Getting to this point has been hard fought by a number of groups, as plans to create a hospice between Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth faced challenges due to funding and disagreements over where it should be built.

St Elizabeth Hospice will run the facility from a seven-acre (2.8 hectare) site off Sidegate Road, close to James Paget University Hospital.

Judi Newman, the charity's chief executive, said: "This is the largest population in the country that doesn't have access to such a facility, so it really is getting a much better equity of provision that's very long-awaited and long needed."

The £16m facility will provide end-of-life care through beds on site and via an outpatient clinic, serving people in their own homes.

About two-thirds of the funds needed for the project have been raised, but there is still more work to be done to realise the full vision.

The charity, which has a site in Ipswich and offers services from Beccles Hospital, said demand for hospice care in Great Yarmouth and Waveney was expected to increase by 35% by 2040.

It said only 2.1% of people in the area currently died in a hospice, compared with 4.4% nationally.

As well as Chadd's mother, Roberta Lovick, founder of the Louise Hamilton Trust, has been campaigning for a hospice in the area since the death of her daughter Louise in 1998.

She said: "[This] is an incredibly emotional and significant moment for me.

"For too long, people in Great Yarmouth and Waveney have not had the same access to specialist hospice care as other communities, and this hospice will help change that."

Mark Hart, managing director for Barnes Construction, said it could take two years to build.

"About 61 weeks [14 months] from now, we'll be back here handing the keys over," Hart said.

Charlie Royall, a clinical nurse specialist who will lead the team at the new hospice, thanked all the people who have helped fundraise.

She said: "To have a building where we can have all of these services and have a hub for the community for palliative and end-of-life care is a massive achievement."

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