Hospice Diary: From the BEN Files

January 1986

Local campaigners have not given up hope of establishing a hospice for the terminally ill in Bolton -- despite a cool and cautious response from the health authority. The Bolton Hospice Steering Committee chairman, Mr Ray Speakman, says it could raise the £600,000 needed to start it by a public fund-raising campaign. But the sticking point is not that initial cost; it is the £300,000 that it will cost to run the Hospice in each subsequent year. He says the health authority should make it available, but general manager Mr Vic Peel says that is unlikely to happen. The money would have to come out of Bolton's existing cash allocation from the North West Regional Health Authority, and health chiefs do not regard it as a main priority. No money has been allocated to the hospice project in Bolton's spending plans for 1986-87.

April 1986

Campaigners emerged from an all-day seminar on the care of the dying, confidant that they will achieve their aim. The conference in Bolton's Festival Hall yesterday discussed all aspects of the subject, but the calls for a local hospice drew particularly warm support. But Bolton Health Authority still has to decide whether to back the hospice option, and its support is essential if the unit's £300,000 a year running costs are to be met.

August 1986

Plans for Bolton's first hospice for the terminally ill have taken a major step forward as a result of a crucial decision by Bolton District Health Authority. The Steering Committee, which has been probing ways of getting the project off the ground, asked the health authority to pledge its support with running costs so that fund-raising for the building can start in earnest. And the Authority has said "yes" in principle. The decision means that a fund-raising committee could be set up within the next few weeks. The fund-raising will start in September with an initial target of about £1m.

Members of Soroptimist International of Bolton left everyone else at the starting blocks by presenting a £500 cheque to get the massive fund-raising project underway. It is only one week since Bolton Hospice Steering Group was given the signal to forge ahead when Bolton District Health Authority pledged to help with the running costs if the capital for the project can be raised by the people of Bolton. And it is planned to launch the cash appeal -- target at least £1m in less than four years -- at the beginning of next month.

March 1987

Generous council chiefs at Bolton have stepped in to provide a site for the town's £1m Hospice. The council is to give the Hospice Appeal organisers a piece of land at Queen's Park depot next to the town's Royal Infirmary.

Council leader Bob Howarth said "the value of the land is our contribution to the Hospice" and the council would not be charging for the land.

June 1988

Bolton Hospice campaigners are reeling from the shock news that they could have to raise an EXTRA £90,000. The campaign has been stung by a European Court ruling which slaps VAT on new buildings. All construction except private housebuiling will be subject to 15pc VAT from April next year.

Bolton's "Night of Stars" of the Albert Halls on June 9, 1988, raised a staggering £11,500 -- by far the biggest amount to date raised by a single event. The gala night, staged by Bolton-based sports shoe firm Reebok, was attended by a host of top stars including John Forsythe (Dynasty's Blake Carrington) and muscleman Dolph Lundgren, rippling giant of Rocky IV and Masters of the Universe. Most of the guests paid £100 each to attend.

July 1988

Mr Raymond Speakman, the appeal's chairman, watches as the new headquarters is lowered into place by a crane. An anonymous donor gave the all-steel portable building, which will be used as a base for all administration work by the appeal. Transport was donated by Bolton garage Tom Ashton's, and the crane by construction firm Wimpey.

May 1989

Bolton Council has taken steps to make sure plans for the town's £1.3m Hospice are not thwarted by a legal loophole. A covenant dating back more than 100 years was discovered for the s ite at Queen's Park. It stated that the land should be used for a public park and legal chiefs were worried that there could be a claim made in the future. Councillors met behind closed doors this week and they were told that a special insurance policy is currently being set up.

July 1989

A major award scheme for people who raise money for the Bolton Hospice is announced today. Under the scheme, which starts immediately, and is sponsored by the BEN, anyone who donates £250 will receive a bronze award certificate, a silver award certificate for £500, and a gold award certificate for £1,000 or more.

November 1989

Bolton's clean-up Mayor, Cllr Len MacIvor, dug deep for Bolton Hospice this week -- by knocking down a wall of an out-building on the Bolton Hospice building site with a 200 horse-power bulldozer in a ceremony to officially hand over the land to build the Cancer Care Centre. After three years of solid fund-raising the building of Bolton Hospice has finally got underway and hopes to be finished in 1991.

July 1990

Work started this week on Bolton Hospice -- but the appeal is far from over. Four years after eight like-minded souls banded together and embarked on the project which sparked the imagination and fierce determination of Boltonians a new desperate appeal has been made. The building itself will cost £1,108,977 to erect and a further £300,000 is needed to equip the hospice with the very latest medical equipment. Running costs per annum are reckoned to be in the region of £500,000, but without taking these costs into account, £760,000 must be raised.

October 1990

One of Britain's top cosmetics companies has taken root in the grounds of Bolton Hospice. Today the Body Shop's franchisee Peter Canter was due to plant a celebration tree on the hospice site close to Queen's Park. The planting of the tree is part of a national Body Shop campaign entitled "Once Is Not Enough" which will draw attention to the problem of waste and encourage the public to recycle wherever possible.

December 1990

Three former TV soap stars stepped back into the limelight this week -- and dropped a brick. The event marked the first in a new "Buy a Brick for Bolton Hospice" campaign. People are invited to pay £1 to buy a "brick" for the hospice which is currently under construction. So far local generosity and sheer hard work have raised around £850,000 towards the £1.2m hospice. Pictured dropping the first "brick" into place are Coronation Street's barmaid Tina Fowler with ex-Crossroads Benny and "late" Street bad lad Alan Bradley.

June 1991

The Bolton Hospice -- for so long just a distant dream for its army of fund-raisers -- is on target to accept its first patients by the end of the year. Construction work is going to schedule and the builders should be moving off site by the end of August. The walls are up, the roof is on -- but probably the clearest signal that the dream is poised to become reality is that a matron has been appointed and she will soon be recruiting her special team to run the 14-bed hospice and day centre.

The post of Matron of the new Bolton Hospice is the realisation of a long-held dream for Mrs Pat Sneddon. For this 32-year-old Warrington woman comes directly from six years' work as a second-in-command at St Rocco's -- a busy 14-bed hospice in Warrington. She moved there from a general nursing career at Warrington District Hospital where she trained, and where she nurtured her interest in caring for the terminally ill.

October 1991

Fund-raisers saw their dreams turn to reality when Bolton Hospice was officially opened by the Mayor and Mayoress of Bolton. The £1.5m project is expected to be ready for the first patients by the end of January next year. The Mayor of Bolton, Cllr Gerald Riley, receives the keys from Mr Brian Corfe, the chairman of the builders, Tyson's. With them from left are architect Patrick Taylor, Mayoress Eileen Riley and chairman of the hospice management committee, Raymond Speakman.

November 1991

A Service of Dedication "fulfilled the dreams" of hundreds of Bolton people. In her opening address on behalf of the Hospice's Council of Management, Rev Norma Couldwell praised the efforts of local people who had "helped make a dream come true". The Bishop of Bolton, the Rt Rev David Bonser, who performed the blessing, applauded the hard work and devotion of Bolton people who helped raise the £1.5m to build the hospice. The Bishop was assisted in the consecration by the Very Rev Frank McCauley, representing the Roman Catholic faith and the Rev David Reddish, chairman of the Bolton and Rochdale Methodist District.

March 1992

Bolton Hospice has welcomed its first patients, five years after the appeal to raise £1m was launched. The fund-raising committee has raised £1.2m in five years and is now aiming to maintain the momentum by raising the £500,000 needed for the first 12 months of operation.

December 1992

A fluke change of travel plans proved to be a lucky break for the Duchess of Norfolk on her visit to Bolton Hospice yesterday. The chance alteration, in a bid to avoid roadworks and fit in with a carefully plotted time schedule, meant the Duchess narrowly missed being caught in Manchester city centre bomb chaos on her way to officially open the Hospice yesterday. She was able to unveil a plaque, meet patients, staff and fund-raisers, and attend a reception buffet as planned.

March 1993

Nurses Benise Faye and Anna Taylor are wearing their rosiest smiles for Bolton Hospice's first birthday. The petal-strewn pair are urging Bolton folk to don their pink silk "Compassion" roses to celebrate the anniversary tomorrow. Borough-wide sales of the blooms -- modelled on the Hospice logo -- have come up roses for fund-raisers. Celebrations come two weeks before Britain's most famed English rose Princess Diana visits the Hospice on her first ever trip to Bolton.

A cheeky-faced chappie with two front teeth missing, Daniel Aspinall, was one of the first to meet Princess Diana as 5,000 fans turned out for her in Bolton today. Daniel's gran, Mrs Madge Hutchinson, is a nurse at Bolton Hospice, and he presented the Princess with a posy before she met patients, relatives, staff and supporters. The caring Princess is renowned for her work with the sick and terminally ill. And her visit set the seal of approval on the work of Bolton Hospice -- celebrating its first anniversary -- which was built after one of the biggest fund-raising drives in Bolton's history.

May 1993

Caring staff at Bolton Hospice have picked up a prestigious award for their "outstanding medical service to the community". The staff's dedication to caring for the terminally ill was recognised at a ceremony in Liverpool which awarded medals to the top medical teams in the North-west. Mrs Pat Sneddon, matron at Bolton Hospice, was at the ceremony to accept the silver medal awarded to the staff under the Medical Community Awards Scheme. The Hospice was among 3,000 nominations for an award and was chosen from a final short-list of 270.

Bolton Hospice bosses have been handed £124,000 by the Government to meet running costs this year. The allocation from the North Western Regional Health Authority is part of a £2.6m hospice funding package which has been divided between the region's 20-plus hospices. Hospice finance chiefs estimate this year's running costs will total just below £700,000. The Government has also allocated £60,000 towards the supply of drugs and dressings to the hospice. A total of £28,000 in income support has been allocated as part of the Community Care Act introduced in April.

June 1993

BEN Wheels Appeal launched aiming to raise £20,000 to buy a purpose-built "ambulance" just for the Day Care Unit, which three times a week acts as a base for seriously ill patients being cared for at home. The Unit provides a welcome respite for patient and career. However, many wheelchair-bound patients and others using oxygen therapy cannot attend the Unit. Apart from the transport provided by dedicated volunteers, there is no vehicle available to take them to and from the hospice.

August 1994

The order has gone in to Ford for the special Transit Van which will be made into a purpose-adapted "ambulance" for the Day Care Unit at Bolton Hospice. And it's all thanks to BEN readers who have supported the Wheels Appeal so remarkably over the last year. With the final figure of just over £20,000 now on the horizon, the £5,000 deposit has been paid this week to motor dealers Gordon's (Bolton) Ltd.

September 1994

Hundreds of Bolton singers and musicians will be taking part in the world's largest simultaneous singing event to raise money for the Bolton Hospice on October 8. They will be performing Handel's Messiah as part of the BT Voices for Hospices 1994 initiative. More than 275 local singers are due to perform at the Victoria Hall in Bolton -- one of 200 venues worldwide staging the event. BBC Radio 2 is supporting the occasion with the countdown to the 7.30pm start and a number of regional broadcasts taking place during the evening. Organisers are hoping to raise up to £1.5m and the event has been made possible thanks to a £150,000 donation from BT's Community Programme to cover the administration and setting up costs.

March 1995

It's here -- the ambulance that YOU helped to buy is on the road! More than £20,000 has been raised by readers for the BEN's Wheels Appeal to buy a specially adapted Ford Transit van for Bolton Hospice. Pennies and pounds, cheques and postal orders have arrived at Newspaper house, raised by collections, raffles and sponsored events of every kind. Last week, BEN Editor in Chief Mr Andrew Smith handed over the keys to Mr Raymond Speakman, chairman of the council management of Bolton Hospice, after 18 months of fund-raising which has involved people from all over the district.

November 1995

Care services for terminally ill patients in Bolton have been given a major boost. Money from the North West Regional Health Authority will allow Bolton Hospice to employ extra staff and set up a new "hospice at home" scheme. Wigan and Bolton Health Authority received the biggest share of money in the whole of the North-west with a total of £148,000 coming to the two towns. About £64,000 is being put the "hospice at home" scheme which will allow people to die with dignity in their own home is they do not want to go into the hospice on Chorley New Road. They will receive the same standard of care as in-patients.

December 1995

MP Peter Thurnham is backing a project aimed at building a replica of a record-breaking car made in Bolton -- and raising money for the town's hospice. According to a 1928 report, a three-wheeled MEB set world speed records in France. The MEB, which took its name from the initials of its creator and place of manufacture, Maurice Edwards of Bolton, is believed to have been in production until 1934. The Thurnham, Conservative MP for Bolton North East, has teamed up with the hospice to organise a competition to build an MEB which could be sold to raise funds.

May 1996

Bolton Hospice is taking its caring service into patients' homes and is about to start a scheme called "Home Care" with a special nursing team. The move comes after an out-patient consultation service was established. This offered medical and nursing advice and support to patients who did not need, or wanted, admission or day attendance. The Home Care system will provide special assessment, support and holistic care in patients' own homes "extending the Hospice philosophy of care into the community". The Regional health Authority has made cash available for the first year's running. The scheme is also fully supported by the Wigan and Bolton Health Authority, with whom the hospice has a contract for service provision.

January 1999

Bolton Day Hospice will be built on the existing visitor car park -- but a gift from a property developer means patients and relatives need not be driven to despair. Before any car parking spaces are lost, a brand new site will have been developed. Land on which the former Medical Institute stood has been donated to Bolton Hospice by Oakland Development Ltd, to be used as a car park. The building, which stood adjacent to the hospice, became redundant when the town's two hospitals merged into one forming the Royal Bolton Hospital in Farnworth. It has since been demolished and the land flattened in readiness to serve its new purpose. Once complete, the site will be landscaped and fenced off.

January 2001

As well as its 14-bed main building, the Hospice now has a new Day Unit off Chorley New Road on the same site, which opened its doors earlier this year. This cost £1.5 million, but its value in terms of what it means to individuals and their families is priceless. It can offer people living at home with a serious illness, a regular day out in these lovely new surroundings, plenty of company, and facilities which include everything from hairdressing to aromatherapy. The unit has been brilliantly planned to consider individual symptoms and feelings and -- like every part of the hospice -- is manned by a blend of professionals and volunteers of the highest calibre.

June 2001

Bolton Hospice Lottery is officially launched by Bolton songbird Hannah Morris, and a very special grandmother. Teen star Hannah will be singing some of her favourite songs, supported by Bolton Market Radio, in Victoria Square, opening the festivities at 10am. There will be plenty of music, dancing and prizes being given away, and local people are being urged to "join in and join up". And later Mrs June Billington will be performing the official launch after winning the BEN competition to be "A Star for the Day", nominated by grand-daughter Jodie Hedlicott. The Lottery is due to start on Friday, September 21, and will have a £1,000 first prize, second prize of £200, a third of £50 and 25 x £10 prizes. The stake will be just £1 per entry, and organiser Louise Ashworth already reports plenty of interest and pledges.