A unique youth hospice will provide young people living with incurable illness and their families a welcoming and supportive environment during end-of-life care.
Deputy Premier John Barilaro, Health Minister Brad Hazzard and Member for Manly James Griffin today unveiled artist impressions of the design of Australia’s first Adolescent and Young Adult Hospice, to be built on the old Manly Hospital site.
“The hospice will be surrounded by bushland and overlooking Sydney Harbour, providing a peaceful setting for young people and their families during extremely difficult times,” Mr Barilaro said.
“The centre will provide teenagers and young adults with short-term respite care and specialised palliative care, as well as bereavement support and counselling for their families, seven days a week.”
Mr Hazzard said the hospice for 15 to 24-year-old patients will support families across NSW during the most challenging of circumstances.
“As these young people and their families face the unimaginable, providing appropriate end-of-life care is so important for their physical and emotional wellbeing,” Mr Hazzard said.
Member for Manly James Griffin said the $19.5 million Manly Adolescent and Young Adult Hospice has been designed with privacy, respite and recreation at its core.
“The community’s support has been essential to this project and there will be opportunities for the community to contribute to the project in the coming months.”
“The facility will work closely with Bear Cottage, Manly’s renowned children’s hospice that is also unique to NSW, to assist families caring for young people as they become adults.”
The NSW Government will invest $7 million in capital, including $3.5 million in the 2020-2021 Budget, in addition to the $2 million recurrent expenditure once the hospice becomes operational. The remainder of the funds were generously donated by the community, augmenting funding from both the state and federal governments.
The Manly Adolescent and Young Adult Hospice will feature:
- Eight bedrooms for patients, each with an ensuite and outdoor balcony
- Carers lounges adjacent to four of the bedrooms
- Two family accommodation units with two bedrooms each
- On-site dedicated kitchen and dining room and laundry facilities
- Lounge room (with an outdoor balcony and harbour views), games room, media room, multisensory room and quiet rooms
- Telehealth consultation spaces and technology
Planning is well underway, and the hospice is due to be completed in 2022.
Find out more information and how to support the Manly Adolescent and Young Adult Hospice.
