Why we need your help...
North Devon Hospice strives to be a welcoming, peaceful and safe place to visit for patients and their families. The main hospice site at Deer Park, Barnstaple, has a Bedded Unit which is open 24/7 and is run by a team of Nurses, Doctors and Multi-Skilled Healthcare Assistants. Consequently, people regularly arrive at the hospice at night or in low light, especially during the winter months. When people arrive during these hours, they are often going through an extremely difficult and stressful time, for instance, we could be welcoming a patient coming to stay on the Bedded Unit or a loved one who is visiting a patient that is near the end of life.
Alongside the patients and families who will be accessing the hospice, many of our care service staff work shift patterns covering overnight hours and are often entering and exiting the building, during low light or darkness, to care for the community.
In order to offer a solution to reduce any additional stress and confusion of our visitors and staff at this time, it is integral that the hospice site is appropriately lit up at night so that it is clear for people where they need to go when they are visiting the hospice Bedded Unit to further ensure people feel safe and secure on arrival.
What we will use the funds for...
Effective external lighting is vital for making this happen, which is why the hospice wants to upgrade and increase its external lighting so that it is more effective and more energy efficient. Through upgrading to energy efficient, LED lighting will not only mean that the external lighting at the hospice will be a stronger, clearer light, it will also mean that North Devon Hospice will save around £1,070.80 per year which will then be put back into funding our vital care services. In addition, the new LED lighting will reduce light pollution and will save 21.1 tonnes of carbon over lighting lifetime.
As you can see from the two photos the current lighting is not clear or sharp and still leaves areas of darkness.
About North Devon Hospice
The care services that North Devon Hospice provides supports patients and their families facing the devastating impacts of a life limiting illness and living in North Devon or Torridge, completely free from any charges. The hospice cares for around 2,000 people every year and believes in being there for all the family for as long as people need our support. Medical care is provided from our Bedded Unit at the main hospice site in Barnstaple and in patients' own homes from our Hospice Community Nurse Specialists and Hospice to Home team. Patients are admitted to our Bedded Unit when they need advanced symptom control because they are in pain or have nausea/sickness, rehabilitation after treatment or are in the last days of life. The Bedded Unit offers 7 private, patient en suite bedrooms, a room where families and loved ones of patients are able to stay over night and a Lounge. As well as medical care, North Devon Hospice also provides a range of supportive care, which includes, one to one counselling for patients and any loved ones affected by that patients' illness, including specialist counselling for children/young people, therapeutic support groups and a range of complementary therapies.
Thank you for your support!
The hospice is incredibly grateful for the generous support that we receive from the North Devon community who raise vital funds so that we can keep providing our specialist care and support to local people. We are always thankful for your amazing support and we would be most grateful if you would vote for us to win a grant from M&S Energy so that we can upgrade and increase our external lighting to LED lighting. The new LED lighting will help to make the main hospice site safer, more secure and more energy efficient which will in turn save vital funds which can be put back into our care services which provide crucial support to so many local people.