New £13m NI hospice building opened by Countess of Wessex
The new NI Hospice building in Belfast has officially been opened by the Countess of Wessex on Tuesday afternoon.
Last updated 23rd Jan 2018
The Royal unveiled a plaque to commemorate the opening of the charity’s dementia-friendly facility which provides specialist palliative care services to people from all over Northern Ireland in Hospice and in the community.
It has 18 private en-suite bedrooms, private gardens, rehabilitation suites, a community nursing hub and a dedicated Education and Research Centre.
It is also the first dementia-friendly hospice of its kind in the UK.
Sophie toured the building before unveiling the plaque for the official opening.
Among those present was Kevin Donnelly, whose wife Sharon passed away in the Hospice in October of last year.
"It's very, very considerate for families," he said.
"We were able to stay with my wife for the full time she was here.
"That was 24 hours a day, we lived here, we made our home here and basically camped out here for the 14 weeks.
"This was our family home."
His son, also called Kevin, said it was a powerful occasion: "She would have been very proud of all of us today probably," she said.
"She would have liked to have been here to meet royalty and see the smiles on people's faces.
"Of course, this can be for some people, a very difficult place to come to, maybe to experience loss here themselves.
"I think today though was a joyous moment int eh Hospice calendar and something to be celebrated."