Herriot Hospice on track to open Lambert site in early 2024

The former Lambert Memorial Hospital, in Thirsk, is being converted into a new palliative care and bereavement support centre by Herriot Hospice Homecare following a huge community fundraising effort.

The construction phase for Herriot Hospice@The Lambert is now concluding. The finished facility will provide a new home for the charity's services, including its Wellbeing Network, offering a range of outpatient support.

At the same time, the charity is growing its team ahead of opening the doors to Herriot Hospice@The Lambert, including the appointment of a nursing services manager, Jill Best.

Jill Best Nursing Services Manager

“I am really excited to begin offering our care from Herriot Hospice@The Lambert," she said. "I’ve worked in healthcare in the area for nearly 20 years, including a short time at The Lambert when it was a cottage hospital. It’s fantastic that we have been able to retain the building’s character, as we know this iconic space is so important to our local community.

“It’s lovely meeting new staff, who are readying to provide the personalised and compassionate care Herriot Hospice Homecare is known for from Herriot Hospice@The Lambert.”

Herriot Hospice Homecare chief executive Tony Collins said the charity was on track to open the doors of the new site in early 2024.

“We share our community’s passion to deliver care from our new hospice as soon as possible," he said.

"Being there for local families has remained our singular driving force throughout the project, and thanks to a surge of support we were able to bring the build to its concluding stages this year. We want to keep our community updated at every stage, and share the latest update as 2023 comes to a close.

“While some minor construction delays in the final phase mean we are unable to open doors this December, we are heartened and assured that the impact of these delays do not significantly affect our timeline for service delivery; we are currently on track with the co-ordination of a range of services which can hit the ground running as we open doors in early 2024.

“As we do this, our HOME team continues to deliver care 365 days a year, and will be supporting people at the end of their lives, in their own homes, right across the festive period. We end the year proud of what we and our community have achieved together, which takes us into a new year with the promise of a new hospice."

“We’re so thankful for the remarkable show of support our community has made over the last couple of years in supporting Herriot Hospice@The Lambert. Please keep supporting so our local hospice can be here, caring for local families, for a long time to come.

“As we enter 2024, we’ll be finalising an opening date and a celebratory community launch event as Herriot Hospice@The Lambert opens its doors, and we encourage our community to sign up to receive updates so we can keep in touch.”

To support Herriot Hospice@The Lambert and sign up for updates, visit https://www.herriothh.org.uk/support-our-work/ or call 01609 777413.

Herriot Hospice Homecare is offering an early bird discount of £28 for a Great North Run place until January 2 (after that the price will be £35).

People joining the charity's team will get a participation pack and t-shirt, training tips, advice on raising funds and support on the day itself.

Maureen Worley, 71, who has taken part in the Great North Run for Herriot Hospice, said: “The moment I stepped on the train, the energy was electric from all the fellow competitors. Right from the start people are encouraging you – all you can hear is clapping shouting and singing.

"All you have to do is put one foot in front of the other. It is the most amazing thing I have ever done, and you are spurred on because you know you are doing it for such a good cause.”

For more information and to sign up at www.herriothh.org.uk