Rowans Hospice in Purbrook unveils refurbished in-patient unit after £12,500 raised by Fareham mayor

Mayor of Fareham Pamela Bryant and Cllr Louise Clubley presented a cheque of £12,500 to the chief executive at Rowans Hospice in Purbrook, Ruth White and honorary chairman, John Watkins at the charity’s premises.

New bathrooms were unveiled, with the initial £10,000 from the cheque all ready raised to fit a new jacuzzi bath in one of the newly refurbished bathrooms.

The news comes after the charity was chosen as one of the mayor’s charities during her extended tenure.

The last two years have seen the mayor’s fundraising plans grind to a halt as a result of the pandemic so staff expressed their ‘delight’ after two ‘incredible’ donations were made to the hospice.

After the refurbishment of the hospice’s in-patient unit was postponed after work ended in autumn 2021, the team feel honoured to finally show it off.

Mayor of Fareham Pamela Bryant said: ‘During my tenure as mayor of Fareham I have been delighted to raise funds through my charity appeal. Whilst the pandemic has been a difficult time for fundraising, I am so pleased to have raised sufficient funds to provide a jacuzzi bath in the new area, along with funds for some extras. I sincerely hope this new addition will benefit many patients in future years.

‘I'm delighted to see the new extension at Rowans and I hope it will give a lot of patients a lot of pleasure and have some relaxation as well.

‘It's just a delight to be here and to be able to assist in a small way.’

Chief executive Ruth White added: ‘What we want to do is to continue raising funds to blend in other areas so it matches this beautiful ambience and therapeutic space that we've got here in our lovely newly redesigned rooms at the hospice.

‘It feels wonderful because we started just before the pandemic began. All the contractors walked off site because they couldn't work and we were left in a state of disarray. Luckily they saw us as an essential part of the NHS service provision even though we are an independent charity. We hobbled along through all the constraints and all the measures and now we've got what we need and what we want for the future.’