BBC Look East filming in the centre

BBC Look East chief reporter Kim Riley (pictured below) was filming in the Louise Hamilton Centre today. The report is due to be broadcast tonight at 1830 on BBC1.

The BBC package covers recent controversy about the Liverpool Care Pathway and end-of-life issues. James Paget University Hospital palliative care consultant Dr Bernadette Auger was interviewed about the pathway and how it works to help give people who are dying a comfortable death.

Kim Riley then interviewed Roberta Lovick about the need for a supportive and palliative care centre in Yarmouth and Waveney and how her dream has come true. The centre is named after Roberta's daughter, Louise Hamilton, who died of cancer in her 20s.

The BBC Look East story also features Louise,  a local woman who is living with bowel cancer. She talks about the need for a one-stop-shop where families, carers and friends can all get help and advice to support them every step of the way.

A wintry Louise Hamilton Centre

Finally the snow came to Gorleston on Friday, January 18. The Louise Hamilton Centre got its first ever taste of the white stuff.

Completed on time and on budget

Construction work on a charitably funded £1.5 million palliative and supportive care centre in Norfolk has completed on time and on budget.

The new palliative information and supportive care centre at the James Paget University Hospital was handed over by main contractor ISG and LSI Architects on Thursday 13 December. Construction work on the Louise Hamilton Centre started back in March 2012.

The Palliative Care East appeal was launched back in 2006 with the aim of providing Great Yarmouth and Waveney with a support centre that will help people with incurable illnesses such as cancer, respiratory, neurological, and cardiac diseases.

The centre will open in January and will see a phased opening of services designed to support the needs of carers and patients with life-limiting illnesses. A range of organisations working in partnership will provide services: from the NHS, to local charities, patient support groups, and bereavement groups.

The centre will be about living life. Many people need help to live as full a life as possible when they have an incurable condition. The Louise Hamilton Centre will provide them with access to support and advice and will also signpost them to appropriate community services. 

Chairman of the James Paget University Hospital, David Wright, said: “The centre is absolutely stunning and the architects and builders have done a fantastic job. The centre will make such a difference, not only to patients with incurable diseases but also to carers, friends and families”.

LSI Architects Associate partner Peter Durrant said: “We are delighted the people of Yarmouth and Waveney will finally get the facility they so desperately deserve. We hope the centre’s design will help inspire both staff and visitors. It has been a privilege for us to help realise this dream for the Palliative Care East appeal.”

ISG’s Ian Gifford – managing director – East, said: “The community involvement in this special project has proved absolutely vital in translating the vision for a centre of excellence for palliative and supportive care in Norfolk into a reality. Handing over this building marks the culmination of an inspiring fund raising effort leading to the creation of an outstanding regional care resource, which will benefit both patients and their families.”

Happy New Year to you all!  2013 has arrived and the work cracks on with getting ready for opening. It's January 3 and the centre's looking great.

The centre is being furnished and staff and volunteers are getting familiarised with the Louise Hamilton Centre before we open the doors by the end of this month.

PS You can also like us on our Facebook page www.facebook.com/louisehamiltoncentre