Rossi Long Golf Day boosts hospice appeal

Norwich-based engineering and building consultants Rossi Long have announced that their recent Charity Golf Day has raised £4,500 for the Priscilla Bacon Hospice appeal. The event, held at Bawburgh Golf Club, saw teams of business professionals from across the construction industry come together to support the £12.5M appeal to build a new hospice for Norfolk.

Mark Nicholas, CEO Priscilla Bacon Hospice appeal, said “We are thrilled that Rossi Long has chosen to support this appeal for a much-needed hospice. The Charity Golf Day is an act of leadership which we hope will inspire others to give.”

Mr Nicholas explained that with an ageing and increasing population, Norfolk has the worst provision level for palliative care services and end-of-life care of any English county. Clinical Commissioning guidelines state that there should be 49-57 beds for specialist palliative care, yet there are only 16 beds at the Priscilla Bacon Lodge in Norwich.

“The building of a new hospice on a greenfield site close to the main hospital will transform the provision of specialist palliative services and end-of-life care in Norfolk, now and for the next generation. With 24 inpatient beds, capacity will be increased by 50%. There will be extensive day patient facilities; a hub from which to coordinate the county-wide ‘Hospice at Home’ initiative; and family rooms giving the chance for loved ones to stay overnight, or for children to spend time with a terminally ill parent.”

Services in the new hospice will be funded by the NHS – one of only a handful of hospices in the UK in which this is the case.

“So many of us have experience of the benefits of hospice care for families, loved ones and friends, and we are tremendously excited about this project and the benefits it will deliver for families across Norfolk and into Suffolk. To date we have raised nearly £3.8M but still have a long way to go,” said Mr Nicholas.

Mike Lloyd, Director at Rossi Long Consulting, said “We are delighted to have raised £4,500 for this important cause with the support of our colleagues and friends. The building of a new hospice for Norfolk is desperately needed and I hope that the support pledged by Rossi Long will motivate other businesses to get behind this campaign.”