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.
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.
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.