Manly, North Head: Australia’s first teenager and adult hospice officially opened
Construction of an Australia-first facility to care for teens and young adults who are dying is completed on the northern beaches. See the latest pictures.
Manly
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Australia’s first hospice dedicated to teenagers and young adults — and their families — has been officially opened on Sydney’s northern beaches.
NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet cut the ribbon on Friday alongside Manly millionaire philanthropists Kay Van Norton and her husband Gregg Poche, who donated $5 million to the project.
The unique facility, which cost $19.5 million to build on the old Manly Hospital site on North Head, will start taking patients, aged 15 to 24, and their families in February next year.
Officially called the Adolescent and Young Adult Hospice — Kay Van Norton Place — the project has been the focus of a huge community fundraising push, supported strongly by Manly state Liberal MP James Griffin.
The facility, which will provide end of life and short-term respite care for eight young people at a time in a home-away-from-home atmosphere will be surrounded by bushland and has
sweeping views over Sydney Harbour.
Mr Griffin said the new centre would work closely with the nearby renowned Bear Cottage, a hospice and respite care centre for children.
The new hospice will accommodate young people from across the state.
Teenagers and young adults will receive short-term respite care and specialised palliative care, as well as bereavement support and counselling for their families, seven days a week.
It has eight bedrooms for patients, two family accommodation units with two bedrooms each, a kitchen, dining room and laundry facilities, a lounge room with an outdoor balcony and harbour views as well as games room, media room, multi-sensory room and quiet rooms.
There will be about 40 staff, including doctors and nurses as well as occupational, music, play and art therapists for the young patients.
At the opening Mr Perrottet, who had earlier visited Bear Cottage to help Santa hand out presents, said opening the new hospice was his most special day in his time as Premier.
“I know this hospice … will change lives and make a real difference to families and people going through a very difficult time,” he said.
“It’s a very special day, looking after some of our most vulnerable people in our community.”
The Premier said he was keen to see similar facilities established in other parts of the state.
“I don’t believe, as a government, we’d invested anywhere near an amount we should have in this space,” he said.
“I wanted to change that.”
Mr Griffin thanked Ms Van Norton and her husband for helping fund a facility that families and young people could turn when the going gets tough.
As well as $6 million from the NSW Government and some federal funding, money was also raised through community groups including local schools, Rotary and RSL clubs.
“There has been no bigger force in getting this done than Kay Van Norton,” Mr Griffin said.
He said the building represented compassion.
“Compassion and the collective desire of so many people to give some love and some hope during a time when it is needed the most,” he said.
The NSW Government will also fund the operating costs, through NSW Health, for the new hospice.
For more information on the facility click here.
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