WALES’ leading children’s charity, Tŷ Hafan, needs your help.
As part of its refurbishment appeal ‘help us over the finishing line’ which launched this week, Tŷ Hafan, is asking for support from the public to give children with life-limiting conditions and their families a hospice fit for the future.
In 2020 the charity embarked on an essential, refurbishment project.
Through the generous support of the Welsh public and its loyal supporter base, more than 80 per cent of the £1 million fundraising target has been raised, with a large part of the hospice refurbished, including the childrens’ bedrooms, family living room and new therapy room.
With the coronavirus pandemic taking its toll on fundraising events, Tŷ Hafan - which opened in 1999 and is used 365 days a year - still needs to raise another £170,000 to make the final essential additions,
Tŷ Hafan’s Head of Hospice Services, Beth Morgan, explained: “Our services are essential to improving the quality of life of children, and their families, and we want to provide the best possible environment to receive the highest standard of care.
“This refurbishment is not just a ‘nice to have’ for Tŷ Hafan; it is vital to our service delivery.
"Children with life-limiting conditions are living longer because of the expert care available to them, so we need to keep pace with the changing world of healthcare and refurbish our equipment, facilities, and overall environment to meet increasingly complex demands.”
The refurbishment has included a more cheerful ‘beach hut’ theme along with including infection-control flooring, optimising space, providing more purpose-built space for medicine preparation, and ensuring facilities are as accessible as possible for children with various complex conditions.
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Families cared for by Tŷ Hafan were consulted in the planning stages and gave feedback – including creating a greater sense of privacy in communal and living areas and making the family bedrooms feel more homely and comfortable – which was incorporated into the plans.
Frances and her daughter, Anja, who now live in Pembroke, were offered a crisis stay at Tŷ Hafan in September.
“The refurbishments so far are amazing”, said Frances.
“The care wing was almost unrecognisable. It’s clear that clinical improvements have been made but they managed to preserve the friendly and home-from-home feel that Anja and I love so much about Tŷ Hafan.”
The money needed for the refurbishment is in addition to the more than £4.5 million the charity requires annually to continue providing free care to children with life-limiting conditions and their families.
Ms Morgan added: “We couldn’t have raised the money we needed without the generous support of the Welsh public and we are extremely grateful.”
For more information, or to donate, visit tyhafan.org/fitforfuture
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