THE Countess of Chester Hospital is launching a new fundraising appeal.
Relative Comfort aims to raise £500,000 to provide overnight accommodation and counselling rooms for relatives and loved ones of critically ill patients.
The appeal launched last night (Thursday) with an evening at the Hoole Hall Hotel.
Fundraising manager Kate Taylor said: “The aim is to provide two en-suite bedrooms as well as kitchen, lounge areas and two additional rooms for counselling and support.
“By providing a comfortable ‘home from home’ environment, relatives can return to the patient’s bedside at short notice, providing psychological and practical support when it is needed most.
“The previous appeals undertaken by the hospital have been well supported by the local community and we are confident that this appeal will be equally successful.
“The Chester Childbirth Appeal has recently provided similar facilities for parents of babies in the Neonatal Unit and feedback from families using these facilities has been very positive.”
The hospital currently provides five beds in the intensive care unit and eight high dependency beds.
In 2004, the trust established a growth in critical care as a strategic priority and is now combining the two wards and increasing the number of beds to 18.
The cost of building the new Critical Care Unit will be met from the trust’s capital programme.
Call the fundraising team on 01244 366240 for details.
