Martin House Children’s Hospice is embarking on our biggest transformation since we opened in 1987. We are launching THE BUILD, to extend and refurbish the hospice, so we can continue to be the lifeline that families need in the future.
We are Yorkshire’s centre of excellence in paediatric palliative care – supporting children and young people with life-limiting conditions along with their families – but our building no longer matches the expertise of our specialist staff.
Advances in medicine mean children and young people with life-shortening conditions are living for longer and with more complex needs. Our building needs to adapt to meet the changing needs of children, young people and their families.
Over the next 18 months, we are asking the people of Yorkshire to help us raise £2 million, to help us complete THE BUILD, to improve and update the hospice building.
This exciting project will see new and improved facilities for children, young people, their families and for staff. These include:
- A new children’s wing, with bigger, woodland themed bedrooms, fitted with piped oxygen, integrated hoists and accessible ensuite bathrooms, to give a home-from-home experience with all the specialist equipment to provide the care they need.
- A new hydrotherapy and sensory pool, where we can provide therapy to relieve symptoms like pain and muscle spasms, as well as give families the chance to experience swimming together.
- A wellbeing centre with a new immersive sensory room with cinema experience, complementary therapy and counselling rooms, alongside a space dedicated to day care and group sessions for parents, grandparents and siblings.
- Improved family space with communal living spaces, new parents’ bedrooms, art room, music room and play room to enable truly holistic family care.
- An extended teenage wing, refurbished to give young people more freedom and independence.
- A new education centre to provide education and training in specialist palliative care to health and social care professionals across Yorkshire and beyond.
For three-year-old Thomas’s family, THE BUILD will mean they can take him swimming for the first time. Thomas has a rare genetic disorder which has affected his development, and means he is prone to severe chest infections.
His parents, Bethany and Jack Harrison, said: “Martin House is a lifeline to us – we don’t know what we’d do without it. But we are looking forward to all the new facilities THE BUILD will bring.
“We’ve never been able to take Thomas swimming because it would be too much to manage in a normal pool, with our other children as well. So we can’t wait to experience the new hydrotherapy pool, as he loves water.”
You can help us give families like Thomas’s the hospice they deserve by backing THE BUILD.
There are lots of ways you can support us, organise your own event as part of our BIG Challenge – from a BIG bake sale to a BIG run or BIG fancy dress event. You can do anything to back THE BUILD. You can also ‘Buy a Brick’ to build our virtual wall at www.martinhouse.org.uk/the-build/recognitionwall/
You can find out more about THE BUILD and how you can get involved to help Martin House to build the children’s hospice of the future at www.martinhouse.org.uk/thebuild.
Martin House Children’s Hospice
Grove Road, Boston Spa
Wetherby, LS23 6TX