St Elizabeth Hospice was today awarded a grant of £678,482 by the Department of Health.
The money was welcomed by the Hospice’s Chief Executive Jane Petit.
She said it will be used to improve the environment for patients and families using the Day Unit at the Hospice in Foxhall Road, Ipswich.
Details of the plans are set to be announced in the coming weeks.
Mrs Petit added: “We are pleased our grant application has been successful. The money will enable us to improve the environment for patients. The building work will be phased to minimise disruption and we hope it will start in the autumn.”
She said staff, volunteers and patients were being involved in the process as much as possible.
Last year the Department of Health invited all adult and children’s hospices in England to apply for a grant from a £60m pot under the Capital Grant Scheme offering funding to improve the physical environment in which they provide care.
The funding aims to improve care for patients and families by enhancing care facilities and improving the patient experience in the hospice environment, as well as supporting the care that hospices provide to people in their own homes.
The principal requirements are that projects deliver improvements that directly benefit patients, have a tangible impact on the physical environment and provide value for money.
Three years ago St Elizabeth Hospice secured a £496,000 Department of Health grant to improve the Inpatient Unit in Ipswich and areas leading up to it, including the building’s main and out-of-hours entrances.
St Elizabeth Hospice improves life for people living with a progressive illness. Its work is centred around an individual’s needs, which means specialist support, wherever it is required, whether at home, in the community or at the Hospice in Ipswich, Ditchingham, Gorleston or Beccles.
The Hospice is an independent charity which provides services free of charge and costs £8.7 million a year to run, with almost three quarters of that figure coming from the local community.