A move improve our outstanding care – the new Priscilla Bacon Lodge

For over 40 years, NCH&C staff provided specialist palliative and end-of-life care for patients in Norfolk and Waveney at Priscilla Bacon Lodge (PBL) which was part of the Colman Hospital in Norwich.

The Lodge was built in 1979 following a county-wide fundraising appeal led by Lady Priscilla Bacon and was donated to the NHS after the facility was built.

Since then the population of Norfolk has grown by over 220,000. People are living longer and increasing numbers of patients are presenting multiple complex care conditions. Palliative care has progressed tremendously during this time too.

£12.5 million was raised by the Priscilla Bacon Hospice charity to build a new hospice in Colney. As well as having inpatient beds, the new Priscilla Bacon Lodge offers vastly improved daycare facilities, with a wellness centre, gym, and a greater number of counselling and therapy rooms.

As part of the transition to the new site, NCH&C colleagues and volunteers, and staff and fundraisers from the Priscilla Bacon Hospice charity took part in a lantern-lit walk from the old PBL to the new. The lantern-lit walk symbolised the bringing of light from the origins of PBL, into its future as a symbol of hope and remembrance.

Watch a short video from staff and volunteers about their thoughts and feelings about the move to the new PBL here:

The launch of the new PBL marks the launch of a new Palliative Care Provider Collaborative between NCH&C, NNUH, and the Priscilla Bacon Hospice charity to seamlessly deliver specialist palliative care in Norfolk. The new facility will be a platform for education and research, supporting improvements in palliative and end-of-life care locally and nationally. It will become a hub for palliative care services, working with the University of East Anglia, and collaborating with the Norwich Research Park.

We deliver a number of services to palliative and end-of-life patients across Norfolk, including community service, day treatment, and specialist in-patient units. Our staff do incredible work to ensure our patients receive the best end-of-life care possible.

Ruby Cox, a Staff Nurse at PBL, shares her career journey and how she unexpectedly found a passion for working in end-of-life care here.