North Wales Weekly News reporter opens new St David's Hospice suite at Llandudno

Dec 18 2008 by Judith Phillips, North Wales Weekly News

Judith Phillips at St David's Hospice

DURING my long career as a journalist there have been several highlights, and one of them undoubtedly came last Wednesday when I was invited to officially open a new young persons’ suite at St David’s Hospice.

The charity’s chairman Gladys Harrison and chief executive Alun Davies asked me to open the suite in recognition of the support the Weekly News has given to it since before the Llandudno-based facility opened eight years ago.

Each week we allocate space on this page to the hospice’s fundraising efforts, and over the years we have constantly highlighted its struggle to achieve fair funding from the Assembly.

“You have been invited to open the suite in recognition of the wonderful support that you and the North Wales Weekly News have given the hospice over a number of years,” said Mrs Harrison.

The new young suite has cost £15,000 which has been funded by a grant from the Ellerman Foundation and coordinated by umbrella charity Help the Hospices.

It consists of a bedroom stylishly decorated in restful shades of cream and brown with a flat screen TV, internet facilities, a games console, an adjoining bedroom for a relative or friend to stay with the sick person, and an en suite bathroom. It also opens out directly onto a pleasant patio allowing the patient to sit outside on sunny days.

“As an adult hospice we care for people from the age of 18 upwards, and it has become apparent that patients in the younger age range, or patients with young families, have different needs when it comes to accommodation.

“We hope the new suite will give a greater degree of normality to patients and their loved ones,” said matron Nia Rosser-Hughes.

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