A PILOT scheme aimed at providing care closer to home for people with life-limiting illness is giving Richmond and Dales residents a helping hand.

The £20,000 pilot day hospice is available to patients living in Hambleton and Richmondshire and is based in the Friary Hospital, Richmond – meaning patients too sick to travel to Darlington for hospice services can stay closer to home.

The scheme is run in partnership between Hambleton, Richmondshire and Whitby Clinical Commissioning Group, which is funding the pilot, and St Teresa’s Hospice in Darlington.

The centre was set up following patient feedback – many of whom felt Darlington was too far to travel, especially for respiratory patients who are unable to travel with oxygen cylinders switched on, unless in an ambulance.

The day hospice takes place every Wednesday, and features the hospice’s pioneering new therapeutic Choices programme in the morning and a palliative respiratory clinic on the afternoon. Transport is provided if needed.

Choices is a 12-week programme designed to offer up to 10 patients an opportunity to take part in activities with a therapeutic benefit, including physical, emotional or psychological support.

The day hospice respiratory clinic runs for eight weeks and is supported by specialist nurses. It is designed to help patients better manage their condition and make it easier to cope with symptoms and daily activities.

Dr Mark Hodgson, HRW CCG governing body member and Aldborough St John GP, said: “We are really pleased to be working with St Teresa’s Hospice to provide this day hospice in Richmond and avoid patients having to go to Darlington, which wasn’t suitable for most people.

“The day hospice is proving extremely valuable to patients and their carers, as well as to healthcare professionals, who now have a dedicated service in the area to refer patients to.

“We are really pleased with how the clinic is going, and we’re currently working with St Teresa’s to fully explore the potential of keeping the day hospice in Richmond after the end of the pilot phase.”

Jane Bradshaw, chief executive of St Teresa’s Hospice, said: “The feedback we have received to date from patients is so positive, and we hope that funding will be extended, so that we can continue to make a difference through this important day hospice provision.”

Patients who think they may be eligible to attend should speak with their GP - appropriate referrals include cancer, motor neurone disease, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s, respiratory illness, heart failure and mild dementia.