Volunteer Barbara’s initial thoughts on the new Moya Cole Hospice
Read Barbara's thoughts below and view some images from the new hospice in Heald Green
Clean, warm, everything being so well thought out – these are the initial thoughts of Barbara Kelly who was given an orientation tour around the new Moya Cole Hospice in Heald Green.
Barbara has been volunteering in the Moya Cole coffee shop in Heald Green since her husband Brian died at the hospice. She experienced the care he received there, and although she was extremely grateful for it, she feels the new environment will make a “great deal” of difference to future patients and families.
“I like the gardens,” Barbara says. “My main reason for liking [the new hospice] is the fact that you can wheel the beds out, in the summer, onto the patio.
Outside areas of the hospice above
Fantastic, they’re not just sitting in a room. They can walk out, they can go in a wheelchair, it’s absolutely fantastic Barbara Kelly, Moya Cole Hospice Volunteer
Moya Cole Hospice has been giving staff and volunteers orientation tours of the new building as they approach the hospice’s opening date.
Another takeaway Barbara had was how much more privacy the patients and families will have once it is open.
“This building offers so much privacy… I think it is fantastic, now that I have seen it,” she said.
“It’s so big compared to the old, which I’m sure will take some time getting used to it!”
Even down to the minor details, Barbara was impressed. The oxygen being piped into rooms, whereas before clinical staff had to wheel it via barrels. She was even amazed by the number of toilets in the new building, jesting that she had never seen so many in her life.
In-patient rooms and nurse station above
Barbara has spent ten years volunteering in the coffee shop at the Heald Green hospice, and she says she absolutely loves it.
“From my own experience, when Brian was in, I would go in there and have a coffee and talk to the volunteer. It was somebody to talk to.
That’s what myself and my friend Pauling who also worked in there felt, a place to relax. Relatives who come to the hospice love that coffee shop. You could go and give the relatives a hug if they wanted it. I loved working in there Barbara Kelly, Moya Cole Hospice Volunteer
“My drive for wanting to work in there was how the staff were for Brian. They were absolutely fantastic. Nothing was too much trouble. This building will be so much easier for the staff. I wanted to volunteer almost the day after he died… Purely to give back for what the staff had given to Brian, and to me. They don’t just look after the patient, you’re looked after as well,” Barbara said.
Work is still underway at the new Moya Cole Hospice in Heald Green but is on track for opening by the end of spring this year.