Happy New Year! The first week of 2020 has flown by and we are looking ahead to what the next 12 months will bring for St Richard’s Hospice.

Before we get stuck into the New Year, I would like to reflect on 2019: a year which has given us much to be proud of and grateful for.

Last year saw us make significant progress on our Build 2020 project to expand and redevelop our hospice in Wildwood Drive, Worcester.

We opened our new ‘quiet reception’ area, adjacent to the main reception, which offers visitors, families and patients a peaceful space to wait for appointments.

Over the summer, our courtyard garden was completely transformed in a few days by apprentices from Western Power Distribution.

It is now a haven of calm for patients, volunteers and staff – and we can’t wait to see the plants and flowers donated by Webbs Garden Centres in all their glory over the warmer months.

Towards the end of the year, the finishing touches were made to the extended Living Well Centre bringing Phase One of the building work to a close.

We can now use the light and spacious new rooms for a variety of courses and groups including adapted tai chi, art therapy and sessions on how to manage the symptoms of illnesses.

Phase two of the project starts this month, adding even more specialist rooms including an exercise studio, art studio and horticultural therapy space.

The new, extended hospice will enable us to support people from the point they are diagnosed, improving their quality of life and offering support to their family.

It will also help us to extend our care to more and more patients and loved ones, while dramatically increasing the range and depth of services we can offer.

None of this would be possible without the overwhelming generosity of our community helping to raise the money needed to fund the project. We are so grateful to everyone who has contributed.

We look forward to sharing updates with you during 2020, but for now we wish you a happy and peaceful New Year.