Bright future for Wolverhampton charity as it opens new treatment centre

The new development on Ruskin Road in Low Hill in Wolverhampton will able more people in the community to access the services and care provided by the specialist palliative care and bereavement support provider.

Staff, members of the local community and health care professionals gathered to mark the milestone for the charity on Wednesday, with the new centre ensuring that its specialist services are now more easily available for those in the area, particularly individuals who face challenges travelling to its main site in Compton, west of the city.

The new centre, a former GP practice, will provide a range of expert services for patients and their loved ones under Compton’s care.

This includes a Palliative Care Outpatient Clinic, designed to enhance the quality of life for patients with serious, life limiting illnesses by managing symptoms and providing emotional and practical support.

In addition to the clinical care delivered at its dedicated facilities or in the community in people’s homes, the new centre also offers a wide range of enhanced care services including Psychological Support therapies and complementary therapies that support patients and families through every aspect of their palliative care journey.

Chair of the board at Compton Care, Ros Keeton, said the charity had been looking to expand its reach into the city for about three years and found that the Low Hill area was the right area due to the number of people looking to access services.

She said: "It's one the areas where people want to use Compton's service, but have found it's very tricky to get to us as it's at least a couple of buses and it's not easy to access.

"We thought that we need to take that barrier away and we need to go to them, not them come to us, and the premises at what was previously a medical practice was absolutely suitable.

"They're well-known and were well supported in the community and we've been almost able to step in and get started straight away."

Ms Keeton said the new service matched what people could expect at Compton's main centre, including the same experienced staff and levels of quality and care.

With some charities having recently reported financial and funding issues, Ms Keeton said that Compton had been able to plan ahead over the past few years to ensure it could open the new centre after its own battles with financial issues during the Covid-19 pandemic and cost-of-living crisis.

She said: "This has been on our plan for three years, so we have put money aside to be able to do this and we've been very prudent with our money.

"I'm not saying that things aren't difficult financially and I think they are for everyone, but because we planned ahead and we've been really clear about putting that money aside, when the right building came up, we were in a position to be able to go ahead.

"We've also been upping our income generating activities at the same time, such as our new bridal shop in Wolverhampton, the recent Walk for Compton and our new shop in Bilston, and we've been able to ramp up getting that support we need from the community to help us carry on doing this.

"It is a difficult time for the sector and I'm not taking that away from anyone and what we've been clear on is that we can't just look at the current year we're in and we've got a strong focus on planning ahead and working out what the issues may be, and that's worked out for us."

Rachel Overfield, chief executive officer at Compton Care, was also delighted with the launch of the new centre and said it was part of putting patients and families in the plans for the charity.

She said: “We put our patients and their families at the heart of everything we do, so we are thrilled that our new Ruskin Road centre is now open and able to help more local people access the specialist care and support they need.

“As demand for palliative, end of life care and bereavement support continues to increase, here at Compton Care, despite the current challenging economic circumstances, we are committed to ensuring that we are always there for the local community when they need us most.

"Our new facility is a testament to our ongoing efforts to champion better experiences and outcomes for those living with life limiting conditions and their loved ones.”

Health care professionals and patients can make referrals to the charity through its website or via its 24/7 Advice & Referral Line.

The charity’s services are available free of charge to people aged 18 or over, and their families, living in Wolverhampton, parts of the Black Country (Walsall and Dudley), South Staffordshire and east Shropshire.

To learn more about Compton Care’s services, go to comptoncare.org.uk or call its 24/7 Advice & Referral Line on 01902 774570.