Facilities
St Catherine's Hospice is based in Lostock Hall near Preston . The M6, M65 and M61 are just minutes from the main entrance and there are excellent main roads leading to Leyland and Preston.
The Hospice has developed extensive gardens around its tastefully refurbished beautiful buildings to create a calm therapeutic setting. Every effort is made to make visits as easy and comfortable as possible which is why our facilities include free parking and a delightful reception shop.
Colleagues, including many volunteers, are dedicated to making sure that every aspect of our facilities are kept clean, tidy and in good repair. Housekeepers work to the highest infection control standards and also provide an in-house laundry service. The catering team provide a personalised service that takes into careful consideration the special dietary needs of each patient.
Gardens
St Catherine’s sits on a 24-acre site and its lush and welcoming gardens are an important part of the facilities we offer to patients and their families, providing a relaxing environment in which they can socialise and enjoy the outdoors. As a result, we work hard to maintain our gardens to the very highest standards, making the most of private and corporate volunteers to help us mow the lawns, maintain the garden furniture, carry out planting and weeding and keep the grounds litter free.
We are currently working on plans to enhance colour and fragrance by creating a rich display of tulips, hyacinths, bluebells and wild flowers alongside lavender, jasmine and hyacinths.
Main Buildings
The oldest building in our complex dates back to 1764 and we know that prior to that Lostock Hall belonged to the De Lostock Family during the reign of Edward II (1154-1189). It became a Convalescent Hospital from 1922-82 and re-opened as St Catherine's Hospice in 1985. Since that time extensions and refurbishment have been carried out year by year to ensure that the developing needs and expectations of patients, carers and families are always met.
Our 2006 masterplan has created larger patient rooms, more single rooms, ensuites and facilities for a relative to stay overnight when a patient wishes. A separate ambulance entrance has been built so that people can arrive more discretely and this has enabled a lighter, brighter reception area to be created. Day Therapy now have much improved facilities offering a mixture of clinic rooms, lounges and an art room overlooking the main gardens..
Woodside Clinic
The Woodside Clinic is a separate building in the grounds of St Catherine's and is part of our ongoing investment programme to improve patient facilities. It provides facilities for a dedicated Lymphoedema clinic with three specially-equipped treatment rooms and a reception area. The Woodside also provides other specialised outpatient clinics.
Catering
Our new kitchen was completed in 2009, providing commercial facilities around five times bigger than our old one thanks to a very special donation. The kitchen is designed to provide specialist liquid and blended diets to a high standard as well as a wide range of food to satisfy varied tastes and cultural preferences including Halal. Menu's for patients are designed on a personal basis that take into consideration medical conditions and prescriptions.
Laundry
St Catherine's on-site laundry is available to make sure that patients benefit from high standards of comfort and personal dignity.
Our new laundry was opened in 2009 and has been designed to provide the best possible standards of infection prevention. The commercial washing, drying and press equipment is operated in a one way system, ensuring that linens which have been washed cannot come into contact with unwashed fabrics. Most of the laundry we handle is washed at high temperatures using specialist washing solutions.
The investment in our new laundry has not only improved the facilities at St Catherine’s but has also opened up a valuable revenue stream. We now offer use of our commercial facilities to staff who wish to have their duvets and other large or bulky items professionally washed for a small charge.
Car Parks
The car parks at St Catherine’s are there to make patient visits as easy and convenient as possible. There are two car parks on either side of the main driveway and additional parking for staff on the west side of the building.. All car parking facilities are provided free of charge.
Our maintenance, catering, housekeeping and reception teams are vital to the smooth running of the Hospice and we cannot function without them. The staff and volunteers who look after our facilities are our unsung heroes!
