Kinross children's hospice Rachel House set for £17m revamp
Kinross children's hospice Rachel House is set for a £17m revamp, thirty years after it opened.The hospice, which was the first of its kind in Scotland, is one of two run by Children's Hospices Across Scotland (Chas). The redesign will include an additional hydrotherapy pool, better-equipped bedrooms and fully accessible adventure gardens.Building work is due to start next year with the full project set for completion in 2027, subject to approval from Perth and Kinross Council.
Rachel House was built in 1996 at a cost of £10m and opened by HRH The Princess Royal.It supported just under 100 children a year in the 1990s, but that number has more than doubled and continues to rise.The charity said that the redesign had "put children and families at the heart of the process" with their input key to the changes being made.Dr Qusai Alhamdan, whose children Mo and Elaine have been supported by Rachel House since 2021, said the hospice was "very close to our hearts."The children both suffer from ataxia with oculomotor apraxia, which causes problems with movement, co-ordination and balance. Dr Alhamdan said: "As their condition is degenerative, making memories together as a family is very important to us and we have spent many wonderful respite visits at Rachel House over the last four years."My wife Esraa and I find our visits to the hospice very relaxing because we don't have to worry about our caring responsibilities as the lovely nurses and staff take over and do everything that is needed so we can just enjoy precious time together."
Ken Lowndes' two daughters Jenny and Marion were two of the first children to be cared for in Rachel House when it opened. Born healthy normal babies with a two-year age gap, both Jenny and Marion were diagnosed with leukodystrophy when they were four years old. Before Rachel House opened, the family made regular 900-mile round trips from their home in Achiltibuie, north of Ullapool, to Martin House in West Yorkshire.Mr Lowndes said: "We helped to fundraise for Rachel House but we never knew if Jenny and Marion would get to visit, if they'd live to see it. "They did. They loved it, as did we all."Ensuring the next generation of families has the same standard of care that my family experienced is vital and the redesigned Rachel House will go on to make a huge difference to hundreds more Scottish families."
Chas chief executive Rami Okasha said the charity wanted to transform end-of-life care for children and their families in Scotland.He said: "No one should face the death of their child alone and to be successful we are once again asking or donors to get on board and help raise the millions of pounds that will make a difference every day for families dealing with the unimaginable reality of loving and caring for a child who will die young."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
2 hours ago
- BBC News
Future of new NHS surgery centres in Scotland still unclear
The future of five delayed NHS treatment centres to deal with a backlog of operations will not be known until December. Plans to build national treatment centres (NTCs) in Livingston, Perth, Aberdeen, Ayr and Cumbernauld were put on hold in February last year due to funding problems. The Scottish government previously said it would set out its plans after the UK government's spending review, which took place earlier this month. Now a further review of which NHS building projects to prioritise has been ordered by Scottish ministers, with an update on the surgery centres expected in December. Latest figures show there are 559,742 ongoing waits for new outpatient appointment in Scotland's health service, with waits of more than two years at the highest ever Minister John Swinney has pledged to bring down waiting lists and carry out an extra 150,000 appointments and procedures in the coming Scottish government's original plan for dealing with a backlog of operations was a network of treatment centres intended to deliver at least 40,000 additional elective surgeries, diagnostics and other procedures per year by of these centres are up and running, one has been further committed to by Scottish ministers but the remaining five remain unbuilt and have racked up £34m in costs so far. The Scottish government said it was spending more than £1bn on NHS capital investment this year and has committed to progressing work on one of the unbuilt NTCS, a replacement for the Princess Alexandra Eye Pavilion in Edinburgh.A spokesperson added: "As part of our own Scottish Spending Review, we are undertaking a full review of our capital spending to prioritise the available funding towards projects that drive progress against our priorities."We will provide clarity over which projects and programmes will receive funding in the medium term when we publish our new infrastructure pipeline, alongside the 2026-27 Budget and Scottish Spending Review."The publication of the new pipeline will put our capital budget back on a sustainable trajectory." The treatment centres which are open The four NTCs up and running are in Clydebank, Kirkcaldy, Inverness and are used by all of Scotland's health boards and have been regarded as a successful addition to the NHS's capacity to deal with growing demand and the NTC at Forth Valley Royal Hospital in Larbert is only partially facility's operating theatres and MRI scanner are in use but its 30-bed ward has faced a series of due to open in 2022, the inpatient ward was largely finished by 2023 but then a safety review found ventilation and fire safety issues.A technical solution to these issues has still to be approved by local authority planners and NHS Forth Valley said it can't say when the ward will open until this happens.
Times
a day ago
- Times
Chris Hoy phoned after my diagnosis. If only I'd listened to him earlier
Last year, like millions of people, I read with astonishment the news that Sir Chris Hoy, one of our most decorated Olympians, had been diagnosed with cancer. A few months later, Hoy revealed that it was advanced stage 4 prostate cancer, that it had spread to his bones and was incurable. The common thought I suspect so many of us had was — blimey, how can one of the fittest people on the planet get that? I'd been lucky enough to be in the front row at the Olympic Velodrome in 2012 when two mountainous men on bikes exoceted towards the finish line at 50mph — Hoy getting across the line almost by sheer force of will to beat his opponent and claim his sixth Olympic gold. Superhuman. • Jeremy Clarkson: I don't mind prostate checks — beats being dead On hearing Sir Chris's devastating statement, the males among us, particularly those aged 67 like me, probably also thought, if he can get it, we ought to get ourselves checked. I certainly intended to. But I never did. Seeing friends, football matches, even walking the dog, simply life itself, just seemed to intervene and, anyway I felt fine — no symptoms. Then just two months later, numb with shock, pretty much unable to speak, I found myself listening to a calm, mellifluous Scottish brogue talking me through my own identical diagnosis, based on his experience. Chris was on the phone. He called me after hearing through a mutual contact. It was a mental lifeline. It's impossible to describe the devastation any stage 4 cancer diagnosis causes — unless you are one of the thousands who receive one. Exact figures for stage 4 prostate are a bit sketchy, but it's approaching 10,000 men every year. Including their wider families, that's a heck of a lot of annual shock. And the numbers are increasing. My own physical problems began during one of those trips I'd long planned after stepping back from daily news-reading duties in February 2023. I was on a long-anticipated trip to southeast Asia with my wife when I started to feel distinctly weird. As the days went on, I could hardly get out of bed, and by the time we made it to the flight home I was in agony. I felt like I'd been shot in the back. So, it was straight off the flight — a taxi to A&E and five hours later my world was upended. The cancer was spreading fast, and I needed immediate surgery to keep me alive. After the numbness and shock of diagnosis, the negative thoughts come flooding in. Firstly, of course, how long have I got? Then, 'Why, oh why, didn't I get that check?' hard on its heels. And perhaps the worst, 'You bloody fool, what have you done to your family?' There have been positives too, though, plenty of them, believe it or not. First, let what has happened to us be a wake-up call to other men. I'd write this next sentence in 6in-high capital letters, like some demented world leader on his own social-media platform, if the sub-editors would allow it. If you're over 50, in a high-risk group or have a family history, get yourself checked. Do it and do it this week. And if your GP thinks it's not worth doing, you have a right to insist. So insist. • My night with the prostate vigilantes offering tests the NHS won't It's a simple prostate specific antigen (PSA) test. It only costs a few quid. It can cause false alarm in some cases, but surely if it picked up more cases in their early, easily treatable phase, it would save the NHS millions? Prostate cancer is the second most common cause of cancer death in males in the UK, accounting for 14 per cent of all cancer deaths in men. Testing is particularly pertinent for me personally because, as part of my job as an interviewer, I sat on TV sofas and in studios for decades hearing clinicians, medics and researchers saying get tested when you pass 50. I listened but didn't act. The only crumb of comfort I have from the reasons for my procrastination is that I never had any obvious symptoms — increased night-time peeing, blood in the urine, uncontrollable urges to go. So be aware this disease is insidious and can spread silently and rapidly. There are even positives for members of the stage 4 club. A lot of the headlines about Chris Hoy's news and now mine screamed that we have terminal cancer. Well, yes and no. Life itself is terminal ultimately, after all, and so often for those with prostate cancer, some other condition gets you first. • Chris Hoy: I'm busy proving life doesn't have to stop Doctors have to put a number of years on how long you've got, because it's usually the first question they get asked. But everyone responds to the medicines differently, and prostate cancer is heterogenous. So, I prefer to say, sure, it's incurable, but it is treatable, and becoming increasingly so, with the myriad discoveries, repurposed drugs and new combinations coming down the track. Is there a chance, cutting-edge researchers such as Sir Chris Evans, founder of the Cancer Awareness Trust, are asking, that we're not too far away from it becoming like HIV — once a death sentence, but now manageable? And I'm not just saying that because I want it to happen. But the greatest positives? They are obvious life-lessons really, but too many of us forget about them. Family, friends and living in the moment. I couldn't get through this without my wife, children and wider family backing me up so resolutely. Emotional support, hospital trips, banter — even breakfast in bed! I think about them more than I do the cancer — and I'm sure that goes for all of us with stage 4. Friends — as the saying goes, you learn who the real ones are. So many people I lost touch with over the years have been getting back in contact, leading to more of those damn regrets — why didn't I give them a ring years ago? And fundamentally you appreciate precisely how many minutes there are in each day and how to use them wisely. In my case, some of those minutes are allocated to training for Chris Hoy's wonderful charity initiative, the Tour de 4 bike ride in Glasgow in September. I've got an inkling I might not be able to keep up with him. Dermot Murnaghan hosts Legends of News, a new podcast available on all platforms. He is riding the Tour de 4 to raise money for Prostate Cancer UK. You can donate here.
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Addicts slumped in doorways, discarded needles and more dealers, life beside SNP's drugs consumption room
Slumped in a doorway surrounded by drugs paraphernalia an addict lies collapsed in a drug-induced haze. Yards away are grassy areas littered with drugs 'debris' – hypodermic needles and heroin pipes. Just around the corner, and, sadly with more than a hint of irony, sits the SNP 's £2.3million 'harm reduction' centre that was opened to stop this very thing happening. When he visited with great fanfare in January John Swinney proclaimed Britain's first safer drugs consumption room as a 'significant step forward' in tackling Scotland's appalling record of harm and deaths caused by drugs. Yet, residents and businesses talk of a 'living hell' and are now threatening to quit the area as they are met with daily scenes of drug addicts injecting in the street, discarded needles strewn around their neighbourhood and drug dealing. The facility in question is The Thistle, officially referred to as a 'safer drugs consumption room'. Those less supportive of its operation say it is nothing more than a heroin 'shooting gallery'. It allows addicts to inject their own drugs under medical supervision in a bid to reduce overdose deaths and cut discarded needles in public places. Such is the SNP government's support for the venture they have committed to backing it with £2million of public cash – every year. However, for many living and working in the area, its opening has been far from a positive development. Many believe the problem of addicts openly taking drugs in the streets has increased as well as the proliferation of dirty needles being discarded in their neighbourhoods and drug dealing. This week the Mail on Sunday visited the area to speak to residents and businesses and see first-hand the situation they find themselves in. It did not take long to understand why they are angry. In a patch of grass facing a row of houses a pile of litter was the first sign of drug use. Wrappers for needles, handed out by health professionals, lie next to state-issued 'foil' – provided to addicts to help them take a hit safely. Elsewhere we find dirty needles, used and discarded where anyone, including children, could suffer a needlestick injury. Even in areas where specially-designed needle bins have been installed there are still used syringes lying in the open. We also encountered faeces-covered clothing discarded in areas littered with dirty needles. One addict, having finished shooting up, had chosen to stick their dirty syringe into the grass where they'd been sitting – a health threat left for others to deal with. No wonder local people are furious at the situation. Resident Vanessa Paton said: 'I have sympathy for these people but they're not interested or responsible and this room is just facilitating their addiction. They're saying this project is in its infancy, but it's already like Beirut, it's like living in a war zone. 'It's like the day of the living dead and we're being told this is normal and the project is working. You're encouraging and enabling people, not helping anyone to come off drugs.' Martin Keown, is the director of Calton M.O.T. Centre, which is just a four-minute walk from The Thistle. He said: 'Since that building was opened, our car park space has become overrun by addicts and their needles. It's also become a dumping ground for all the drugs kits containing needles, alcohol swabs, and foil spoons. 'Even though I've spent £18,000 to install a new fence and a solid steel gate at my own expense, users are still jumping over the fence to hit up in my yard. They're leaving used needles, and sometimes even fully loaded needles that are ready to go.' He added: 'A few months ago we found two fully loaded needles propped up against the fence posts like pencils, as if the addicts set them up to use but then got distracted. 'My kids found it and said: 'Dad we've just found something bad that looks like blood in the yard.' They're nine and six.' Footage filmed inside the car park shows an addict brazenly perched against a car, as he prepares to inject himself in the open despite being less than 200 yards from the taxpayer-funded facility designed for that very purpose. The locals who encounter, challenge and talk to some of the addicts who engage in this behaviour say there are numerous reasons why they are still taking drugs in the open. Some have said they will not go to the centre as they distrust the authorities, while others say they need to get their fix immediately after buying drugs, without having to walk to Hunter Street where The Thistle is based. Linda Watson, 68, is a community activist, who was raised in the area. She said: 'A lot of users are not using the actual facility. They are coming here simply because they know there's a supply here. We're just being used as guinea pigs, we're part of a big experiment and there's no-one here to support us. The drug littering has been diabolical, some hit spots ended up with a total carpet of paraphernalia and syringes.' 'I love where I live, we were all brought up here, but people just don't feel safe anymore. People are publicly injecting themselves, they don't even try to hide it.' She added: 'A few weeks ago there was someone sitting in the play park when kids are cutting through to get to school, with his trousers down blatantly shooting up.' The impact of is making it harder for some businesses to operate. Janet Rogers, 55, started working in Bobbi D's salon on nearby Gallowgate in 1989 and worked her way up till she eventually took it over. She said: 'A lot of older people come to me because my business has been going for so long. But a lot of them don't want to come out now because they're scared. They're getting intimidated by dealers and users – there's loads of them just hanging about, lurking. 'They're getting in the closes beside the shop. I've seen plenty of shooting up, they leave needles and tin foil lying about outside the shop, it's terrible.' Ms Rogers fears she will have to close up as a result of the issues she is facing. She added: 'This shop has been my whole life and I just feel totally burnt out with it all, it's just soul-destroying.' The idea behind The Thistle is that by allowing addicts to inject their own drugs under medical supervision, the number of people suffering an overdose can be reduced as well as the number of discarded needles. However, in light of our investigation, the Scottish Conservatives have called for the SNP administration to end its 'reckless experiment'. MSP Annie Wells, who acts as the party's drugs spokeswoman, said: 'The SNP's flagship drug consumption room is making life a misery for local residents and businesses. 'They pinned all their hopes on state-sponsored drug taking, but their solution is failing. Locals are being left to clean up the SNP's mess. 'If the Nationalists continue down this road, businesses near The Thistle will be left with no choice than to sell up and move away. 'SNP ministers should call time on this reckless experiment and finally back the game-changing Right to Recovery Bill, which would enshrine in law a right to treatment.' The Thistle, which has already seen more than 250 addicts use its facilities to inject more than 3,000 times in total, is run by Glasgow City Health and Social Care Partnership. Councillor Allan Casey, city convener for addictions, said: 'We understand the ongoing concerns from residents. We have a community forum set up and running specifically for residents and businesses to attend to allow us to hear directly from them and take necessary actions. 'However, to suggest crime and drug use are new problems in this community is a blatant denial of decades of challenges this community has faced. 'The Thistle is not the cause of these issues — it is part of the solution. In fact, the Thistle has undoubtedly saved lives that would have otherwise been lost thanks to the intervention of staff.' The Scottish Government said it recognises people's concerns and that its partners 'are addressing them through outreach work, ongoing needle uplift operations, and plans to expand public needle disposal bins'. It also said 'a comprehensive independent evaluation' will examine the service's impact and that research and evaluation from similar facilities around the world has shown such facilities 'can reduce levels of public drug consumption and publicly discarded drug-related litter'.
