Cornish charity Cornwall Hospice Care is launching a new service this October aimed at offering support in the community to people with a terminal diagnosis.

The first two weekly Neighbourhood Hubs will open in Penzance and Wadebridge on Thursday, October 12 and will offer a range of advice, support and information for patients, their carers and families. As with all the services offered by the charity, the hubs will be free.

The first hubs will run from 1.30pm to 4.30pm every Thursday at the John Betjeman Centre in Wadebridge and Clarence House in Penzance.

Dawn Tame-Battell is Cornwall Hospice Care’s Director of Patient Services. “The aim of our charity is to make as much difference as we can to as many people as possible who are coping with a terminal illness. Times are changing and patients are now demanding, quite rightly, better services nearer to home.

"The hubs will allow us to take the expertise currently only available to our ‘in-patients’, to others in the community and much earlier in their disease. We hope to reach upwards of a thousand extra people a year via the Hubs.”

The idea of the Neighbourhood Hubs is to encourage patients and their carers to manage their symptoms, reducing dependency and increasing independence, and to help answer their questions. A number of staff and volunteers will be on hand to provide a range of therapies, specialist support and advice and a cup of tea or coffee.

Dawn Tame-Battell again: “We aim to build confidence, helping people to live as well as possible. We want to provide people with a chance to come and talk, to have both their physical and emotional issues addressed, including discussing ‘advanced care planning’ where patients can detail how they want to be treated and cared for going forward.”

“Whilst our intensive care beds at Mount Edgcumbe Hospice and St Julia’s Hospice, remain central to what we do, by reaching out into the community we believe many more people can be supported by our charity. Our plan is to introduce further Hubs in the coming months so we cover the whole of Cornwall, and we will also be running Hub services from the two hospices for people in the St Austell and Hayle areas.”

Patients can be referred to the Neighbourhood Hubs via their GP or they and their families and carers, can pop in and have a look at what we are offering.

Further information is available on our website at www.cornwallhospicecare.co.uk or by telephoning 01726 829874 and contact can be made by email to referrals@cornwallhospice.co.uk