About the project

A much-loved community care hub in Thirsk is being brought back into use to support local families living with terminal illness and bereavement. The iconic space at the former Lambert Memorial Hospital will once again be part of the fabric of the community, bringing inpatient hospice care closer to home for local people.

Building on its long and meaningful local history, plans are being shaped by individuals and organisations across the community to ensure the right care is available for families today, and for future generations in Thirsk and across Hambleton and Richmondshire.

Our Lambert is a dedicated online space for you to keep up to date with news, information and opportunities to be part of this very special project.

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Responding to the need for inpatient care

We understand that remote communities such as Thirsk have unique needs and experiences – including challenges such as reduced investment in public transport, digital connectivity and greater distances to travel to access health and related services.

When someone needs care at the end of their life, these factors can have a significant impact on whether they can access the right services at the right time.

30 miles

to the nearest hospice building means people living with terminal illness in our community are being left to make long uncomfortable journeys to receive the inpatient care they need.

1 in 4

people nationally are not able to access the care they need at the end of their lives. Herriot has a duty to care for our community, and we feel compelled to do more and make what we do accessible to everyone who needs, wants and deserves our support. Together with our long-established home care, Herriot Hospice@The Lambert is a key part of this mission.

1 in 5

people will be over 65 by 2030, and we know the proportion of people aged over 65 is higher in rural communities compared to urban areas, with more people living alone and at risk of loneliness and isolation.

Plans take shape together with our community

Plans for to bring back essential hospice care closer to home in Thirsk, and more widely Hambleton and Richmondshire, involve creating a warm, welcoming place for people living with terminal illness, at any stage of their illness, to feel supported, with care as individual as they are.

The legacy of the Lambert is able to continue thanks to the perserverence, hard work and community spirit of local people and businesses, who recognised a need for hospice care closer to home, determined to safeguard this special space for their families, friends, neighbours and future generations.

More than 600 members of this dynamic community put forward suggestions to Hambleton District Council as part of a public consultation into the building during 2019. The Council agreed with their calls for hospice care here in Thirsk, and formally gifted the building for its plans as a community care hub.

This includes an inpatient unit, bereavement support rooms, an education centre, café and community hub facility. The space will also become the home for our much-loved and already established community services.

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Extending our in-demand HOME care

For more than 30 years Herriot has delivered high quality hospice care in people’s homes across Hambleton and Richmondshire.

People tell us how important it is to remain where they feel most safe and comfortable, and we are proud that our HOME service makes this possible 365 days a year.

Alongside our growing HOME service, we recognise that many local people need specialist care at a hospice building, and for families living across remote and rural communities, access to this care can be particularly difficult.

Herriot’s first hospice building will offer inpatient care; emotional wellbeing and bereavement support rooms; an education centre, café, and community hub; and will provide an important base for our HOME service, which is developing rapidly in response to increased need.