Construction of Elsie’s Retreat, the Coast’s first dedicated in-patient palliative care unit, is poised to begin.
On December 3, Parliamentary Secretary for the Central Coast, Adam Crouch, confirmed that construction would soon begin to transform the former maternity ward at Gosford Hospital into a 10-bed palliative care unit, with Tuggerah’s Collaborative Construction Solutions awarded the tender.
“This dedicated unit will enable inpatient support for palliative patients requiring acute symptom management who are then able to return home, as well as those patients who cannot be cared for at home in the last days of life.
“Once operational, Central Coast residents will, for the first time ever, have a choice between receiving palliative care at home or in a hospital setting, and by locating this unit within Gosford Hospital, patients can also benefit from access to specialist medical, nursing and allied health services as well as diagnostic testing,” Crouch said.
The Elsie’s Retreat Project Committee has been leading the campaign for a ‘homelike’ facility for terminally ill residents for the past eight years, with this latest announcement bringing their dream a step closer to reality.
With construction expected to be completed by March 2021, it’s a particularly poignant moment for committee member and San Remo resident, Oana McBride, with the opening to see her make good on a 12 year promise.
That promise was made to close friend and neighbour Elsie, who passed away from breast cancer while in a nursing home.
She was there due to the lack of palliative care options on the Central Coast and often remarked to her friend that she was “dying in hell.”
McBride recalls during visits, that Elsie would talk about her dream of seeing a palliative care hospice built on the Coast, one that would allow people to spend their final days surrounded by loved ones in dignity and comfort.
Promising to make her dying wish come true, McBride took Elsie’s dream to the Lions Club of Wyoming East Gosford Centennial who’ve supported the Project Committee every step of the way.
Speaking to the Chronicle about this latest development, McBride said the committee’s long fight was almost at its end.
“I won’t let myself believe it until the first patient goes in, but this is a dream come true.
“So many people have wanted this to happen and have done so much over the years, but I don’t think anybody ever thought there’d actually come a day when there was a real life Elsie’s Retreat.
“But despite that, the Central Coast community supported us anyway.
“They turned up at meetings, they came to our charity balls and they donated generously.
“Thanks to the community here we have raised $300,000 for this project and that is a really hard thing to do when you’re asking people to donate to something that doesn’t exist.
“To me that’s what makes this so unbelievable, the sheer amount of support we’ve received despite not having an end date for this project.
“It shows how strong the sense of community on the Coast is,” McBride said.
And according to McBride, that support, along with ongoing support from both sides of politics and the Central Coast Local Health District, will not be squandered, with Elsie’s Retreat set to revolutionise palliative care locally.
“Planning for the unit has been excellent, with the space to provide everything a patient and their family could need.
“The unit is going to be fully refurbished with plans including two large family rooms where families can visit their loved one, a lounge and kitchenette so family members can spend the night, a children’s playroom so families can stay on ward rather than going to Ronald McDonald House and a covered balcony so patients can enjoy some time outdoors.
“The overall design emphasises break out spaces so patients can enjoy time with their loved ones how they choose.”
With work set to commence before the end of the year, McBride said the committee would be continuing to fundraise for the refurbishment and fit out of the unit in the coming months.
“The more we raise the better the facility will be, and donations are most welcome as there’s always more that we can add.”
Once operational, McBride said that long term fundraising would also continue to ensure that funds were in place for equipment upgrades and replacements within the facility, with another long term goal the establishment of a range of palliative care scholarships for doctors and nurses.
Dilon Luke