Cornwall Hospice Care announces a major refurbishment project to mark 45 years of hospice care in the county

Mount Edgcumbe Hospice in St Austell was the first to be established in Cornwall, opening to patients in October 1980. To mark its 45th anniversary, healthcare charity Cornwall Hospice Care is launching a major refurbishment project to ensure it’s fit for the future.

Why a refurbishment now?

Paul Brinsley, Chief Executive of Cornwall Hospice Care, explains; “In 2010/11 we undertook a major £1.3m extension at St Julia’s Hospice in Hayle, demolishing a dilapidated cottage and building the outpatients, reception and seminar rooms, as well as extending the inpatient ward to provide additional bedrooms. We’ve continued to invest in the building by installing solar panels and improved insulation during the last year. We now have the opportunity to invest in Mount Edgcumbe Hospice to bring the building up to the patient privacy and dignity standard of St Julia’s by replacing the 4 bedded bays with single bedrooms.”

The refurbishment will include a Crisis Intervention Suite

“We’ll also create a Therapies Hub in the current outpatients area, as well as a new entrance to admit patients. The current reception will remain for visitors, staff and volunteers, but the new patient reception will allow us to introduce two beds where patients will be assessed before being admitted. This will be our new crisis intervention suite. This all follows work completed in the last year to instal solar panels and improve insulation.”

The refurbishment is fully funded

The new project is already fully funded as David Renwick, volunteer Chair of Trustees at the charity, explains; “We can do all this following a successful Trusts and Grants fundraising campaign, which has been carried out over the last year.  Together with support from the capital grant recently announced by the Government and individual major donations, we’re now able to start the refurbishment project.  The upgrade will cost £1.1m and represents a significant investment for our charity.  Our ambition is to ensure we’re ‘Fit For The Future’ and able to continue to provide the highest quality of care for patients and their families in Cornwall.”

The refurbishment will start in late May

The redevelopment of Mount Edgcumbe Hospice will be a significant one, which will begin on Tuesday 27th May and run into early 2026.  The chosen contractors for the project are Classic Builders (South West) Ltd who have a base in Redruth, and the Chartered Architectural Technologist is Paul Pethick MCIAT of Studio JB Architectural Services Ltd.

The refurbishment will ensure the charity is Fit For the Future

Paul Brinsley again; “We appreciate this refurbishment will bring some disruption to our services for a short period. Patients may be sent to St Julia’s Hospice and non-clinical staff will be encouraged to work from our other office sites or from home for a brief time over the summer.  We believe the limited disruption will be more than worth it for the future care of our patients and their families at Mount Edgcumbe Hospice.”

The refurbishment is part of a rich history

You can read more about the history of Mount Edgcumbe Hospice, Cornwall’s oldest hospice, HERE.

First glimpses of the refurbished hospice

The picture is a computer generated image of what the outside reception areas (patients and public) at Mount Edgcumbe Hospice will look like when the refurbishment is completed.  This will include a new canopy and a new entrance for patients.