Our plans to ensure we are ready for the future of hospice care have been bolstered this week as planning permission is granted.

We have submitted plans to add new facilities at Bicton and Apley which will complement our community-based services.

Plans to extend our Telford site to enhance visitor and communal spaces and develop our therapy services to support palliative rehabilitation were approved earlier this year. Plans to create similar facilities in the grounds of our Shrewsbury site were approved this week.

The plans for both sites form part of our ‘Living Well’ concept – where patient care and support extends well beyond wards and inpatient services.  Living Well places a focus on enablement, supporting people to live well as they can within the constraints of a progressive and terminal illness.

Heather Palin, Deputy Chief Executive and Director of Care , said: “We are absolutely delighted that planning permission has been granted for both sites, this is an important step in making our Living Well ambition a reality.

“Most of our patients are now looked after in the comfort of their own home, with our inpatient facilities playing a supporting role. We will always have wards and strive to be a centre of excellence for our inpatient care but we are so much more community based these days and we need to ensure our facilities always match the changing needs and expectations of our patients.

“Now we have secured planning permission for both sites our board of trustees will decide on the appropriate funding strategy to take the proposals further. These are exciting and ambitious plans and it is only right that we plan carefully how best to fund this project.”