Charities given Royal seal of approval

HRH The Countess of Wessex visited Warrington to officially open new facilities at two local charities, St Rocco’s Hospice and Brainwave.
Her first duty was to officially open a new Day Care Unit at St Rocco’s which symolises the completion of the three elements of care including an In-Patient Unit and a Macmillan/Resource Centre.
Guests at both events included The Lord Lieutenant of Cheshire William Bromley Davenport and the Mayor and Mayoress of Warrington Dr Brian and Irina Axcell.
Beth Eccles, Matron, St Rocco’s Hospice (pictured right) said: “The Countess was incredibly interested in the work undertaken by the hospice, not only the work we do to provide care for patients but also how we provide support and care for the families. It was a great honour to show Her Royal Highness our fantastic new Day Care Centre as well as our in patient unit. Her manner with our patients was fantastic and everyone she met seemed to greatly appreciate the time she spent with them.
Everyone at St Rocco’s is very proud of the new facilities so I was delighted to show the Countess round on behalf of everyone connected with the hospice.”
Alan Farquharson, Chair of Trustees, St Rocco’s Hospice said: “The Day Care Centre was a much needed facility which has taken years of planning to get to where we are now. A great deal of hard work from many people, including Roger Morey our project manager and Roy Davies our architect, has gone in to this project – so to now have it officially open with royal approval is great for the Hospice and for the town whom it serves. The Day Care Centre provides support for patients, who don’t require twenty four hour care, through various means including practical procedures, psychosocial support, symptom control and complementary therapies.”
Following on from her St Rocco’s visit The Countess visited Birchwood based national charity Brainwave, which she is President of.
Brainwave provides home based therapy programmes for children with cerebral palsy and other conditions such as development delay.
Almost 50 guests, supporters, families and staff saw The Countess unveil a commemorative plaque.
The Countess spent time talking to several families with children who have benefitted from Brainwave’s programmes of home based therapy and exercise, including Natalie Preston, (pictured right) who has been on the programme for several years and whose mother Sally, is now the new NW Regional Family Co-ordinator. Natalie presented The Countess with a bouquet of flowers.
Christine Cryne, Brainwave’s Chief Executive Officer, said: “Her Royal Highness has been Brainwave’s President for around six years. She is a great supporter and her presence has added a touch of magic to what was a very special occasion for us.”
The new centre boasts two therapy rooms, a family room with a kitchen and a state of the art sensory room with an interactive floor. The building was chosen for the centre due to its easy links both by road and rail, being a five minute walk from Birchwood Station.
Brainwave was established in 1982 in Bridgwater, Somerset but over the last few years it has expanded to have two additional centres, Witham, Essex and Warrington and there are plans to run outreach clinics in Ireland and Scotland.
It chose to open new centres to take its services to families, reducing the amount of travelling they have to do. The charity works with families to deliver individual, home based therapy and exercises for children with disabilities and Development Delay to reach their full potential. This can be anything from walking to recognising numbers.
The charity looks after a whole range of children with conditions including Cerebral Palsy, Down’s Syndrome and Autism.

The Countess meets the Mayor of Warrington Dr Brian Axcell watched by the Mayoress Irina.