A NEW nursing home offering care to people with terminal illnesses could be built as a hospice maps out its plans for the next five years.

St Helena Hospice, based in Highwoods, Colchester, has long-hoped to expand its reach and offer its services to more patients than ever.

Now Mark Jarman-Howe, chief executive, has revealed ambitions to not only expand the Myland Hall unit but also to build a brand new nursing home.

He said: “We know that people have benefited hugely from Myland Hall over the past 30 years and it is important to them.

“We will keep the site safe for the future and are looking to increase the number of beds at the site.”

He added: “Another issue is people accessing good nursing homes.

“We think we can offer a good way of more people accessing the hospice through a nursing home approach.

“We are looking at serious plans for opening a nursing home, to offer end of life care and more traditional nursing home beds.

“The general nursing home aspect will raise money to cover the end of life care bed costs.

“We are working on a final business case and making sure it stacks up and looks possible.

“This is an opportunity to do something that addresses the balance between Colchester and Tendring.

“We are looking at Tendring as a potential location for the home, while offering more beds at the Myland Hall site.”

The hospice has prioritised keeping Myland Hall following fears the facility could close for good.

A consultation document sent out to staff and volunteers in December considered closing the site and opening a new hospice on the border of Colchester and Tendring.

Mr Jarman-Howe said a recent outstanding inspection report by the Care Quality Commission proved the hospice is on the right track.

He added: “What stuck out for me was how complimentary the report was around staff and volunteers, particularly how they are exceptionally caring.

“I was also particularly pleased with their praise for the personalised care fit around individuals.

“We want to reach out and support more people and address an inequality with people accessing the hospice from different areas.

“We have to address people’s circumstances, if they are in Colchester, this tends to be a bit more of a well-off area compared to somewhere like Tendring.

“I say that regardless of circumstance, everyone should have access to the hospice.

“The Outstanding CQC report shows that we are starting from a place where people value and appreciate the care we provide.

“We can be confident by reaching out to more people and making our service available to them we will get a good response.”

In 2016/17, 3,914 people were identified as being end of life in north Essex and subsequently placed on the My Care Choices Register.

Of those people 1,517 were referred to the hospice.