ELLENOR’S NEW WELLBEING CENTRE IS NOW OPEN

Kent’s Lord-Lieutenant, The Lady Colgrain cut the ribbon to officially open the centre with the opening supported by Mayors from Gravesham, Swanley and Dartford, patients, carers, families, donors, volunteers, patrons, ambassadors, and local supporters.

Ellenor’s wellbeing service is focused on supporting people early in their journey which can be from initial diagnosis of a life-limiting illness when symptom management is required or for families and carers after a bereavement.  Our services have been designed to help people to understand their illness, empower people to make informed decisions and to support families and carers to care for their family at home.

International singer/songwriter Don Mescall, who has collaborated and written music with a range of stars, wrote and performed a song especially for the opening ceremony – guests joined in with him singing The Last Song, with the beautiful line: ‘Let love be the last song you sing’.

What’s new
The new wing of the hospice, visible from Coldharbour Road to drivers and pedestrians, was designed to bring all of ellenor’s care and support back onto the Northfleet site. As services have grown, they have been delivered within the community in churches, halls and hotels – the Wellbeing Centre means they can all return and services be offered entirely from the hospice now.

Rooms large and small in the two-storey building will be used by patients, carers, families, staff and the community. Offices and meeting rooms occupy the top floor to bring teams together more often – staff ran out of space to work together and so remote working was frequent.

In-patients and out-patients will enjoy a range of activities in a safe environment where medical needs are catered for. Activities that might have been too hard or impossible without it being available at the hospice.

What’s on offer
There’s a sensory room for children, a fitness studio and even a small cinema. The cinema room will give families the joy of going to the movies together; many patients in the past have said they would love to go to the cinema one last time. Popcorn, pizza and pick ‘n’ mix will of course be part of the experience.

Groups for carers, including a weekly knitting group, enable people to come together for peer support, chat to someone who understands what they are experiencing and to enjoy something together unrelated to care for a while. Great friendships have been made at the clubs which have run at various community locations in the local areas, but now, the central hub will be ellenor.

All services are free, most are offered on a drop-in basis and a timetable will tell people what’s going on and when.

The opening ceremony
Andy Lowden, Operational Lead for Wellbeing, has overseen what’s gone into the Wellbeing Centre – much of it in response to and inspired by, what the community asked for.
He said: “The face of hospice care is changing and ellenor recognises this – end of life care is not the only thing people need from a hospice. As early after their diagnosis as they are comfortable with, we are here to help with not just their medical needs, but also their wellbeing, emotional, social and financial needs too.
“The Wellbeing Centre means everything people need from us is in the same place, whether they are an in-patient with us, or are visiting.
“Everything here is aimed at giving people a better quality of life for as long as possible. We ask what they need, and we help to provide it, whether that be a fitness class to help them to attend a family wedding, financial help to take that off their mind, cookery lessons, physiotherapy, counselling and of course, socialising – meeting people at the groups and using our cinema room or inviting their family in for a meal they will cook in our kitchen and eat together.
“A life-limiting illness doesn’t mean life stops – it takes a different path and we have so much on offer to make life enjoyable and full.”

Those who made speeches at the opening ceremony each focused on the same points – that ellenor helps people to live as well as they can, for as long as they can, whilst at the same time, supporting those around them to live well too.

Declaring the Wellbeing Centre open, devoted ellenor supporter The Lady Colgrain, said: “I am delighted to be opening the new Wellbeing Centre today. It’s been carefully designed to provide a holistic approach to care – psychological, environmental and physical.”

ellenor CEO Michelle Kabia said: “We are stronger together and this centre will make a real difference to wellbeing. We invite our community to come by and see what we’ve got here for them – have a coffee, enjoy something from our café and take a look around, because we really do have something for everyone here now – it’s been built for our local community.”

Chair of Trustees Mac Cheema, said: “This project has involved meticulous planning to create a sanctuary for life’s toughest chapters. We’re grateful for the contributions that turned dreams into reality.”

Mark Hart, Managing Director of Barnes Construction which led on the build project, said: “This is a remarkable day – this building is beyond bricks and mortar. The design was led by the insight from the leadership team to give us fine details to bring the blueprint to reality.
“What’s here will improve quality of life and become a haven, a place for peace and strength.”

Patron Charlotte Hawkins, said: “I’m thrilled to be here on such a special occasion. It will make a huge difference to the people who need it. Ellenor was the very first hospice I ever went into, and I arrived with trepidation of it being a sad place, but at ellenor, there’s this sense of positivity, love and care – like walking into a big hug.”