Suffolk MP stresses need to address ‘hospice vacuum’ in Waveney and Great Yarmouth
"We have an ageing population and pockets of deprivation"
A Suffolk MP's stressing the need to address a ‘hospice vacuum’ in Waveney and Great Yarmouth.
Peter Aldous, who represents the Waveney constituency, spoke in the House of Commons earlier this week to raise what he described as a ‘hospice vacuum’ across his constituency.
He said: “We have an ageing population and pockets of deprivation and there are acute health inequalities in coastal communities that a hospice can help level out and remove.”
Mr Aldous also welcomed plans from Ipswich-based St Elizabeth Hospice, a charity running end-of-life care and palliative care, for its plans to build a new hospice in Gorleston-on-Sea, Great Yarmouth.
The charity merged with East Coast Hospice last year to form the new St Elizabeth East Coast Hospice, operating across both Waveney and Great Yarmouth.
A recent study conducted by the charity concluded a new hospice on the Gorleston site should be built in stages, with expressions of interest now being sought from architects.
In the Commons, Mr Aldous called on the Government to join the charity in delivering the service by meeting the ongoing revenue cost of providing core clinical services for a full in-patient unit, as well as outreach community services.
He added: “It is good news that after so many false dawns over so many years, we now have a coherent and well-thought-through plan for filling the hospice void in the Waveney and Great Yarmouth area, but while we should be sanguine, we should also be realistic.
“We are not even at the starting point of the rest of England, as we have heard from other colleagues who have a hospice up and running—we do not.”