THE Bathurst community is again being asked to dig deep as part of an ambitious fundraising campaign to extend and redevelop Daffodil Cottage.
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Daffodil Cottage Building Extension Committee chairman Doug Kinlyside yesterday launched the community campaign with a target of $500,000 over the next two years.
But Health Minister Jillian Skinner took the biggest cheer of the day when she announced the State Government would kick in $150,000 to get the fundraising off to a flying start.
The planned redevelopment of Daffodil Cottage will see its cancer care capacity doubled from five chairs to 10 and will also include new clinic rooms for oncology appointments.
Construction work is expected to take between four and six months with chemotherapy services transferred to Bathurst Base Hospital during that time.
Mr Kinlyside later said the state’s contribution exceeded his expectations and he was looking forward to seeing work begin.
“We want work to start as soon as possible – we don’t want to wait until the money has been raised,” he said following yesterday’s official launch.
“There is a Daffodil Cottage reserve we can use to get the building work started but if we were to use all that money then there would be nothing left to fund other Daffodil Cottage services.”
Ms Skinner said she was well aware of the work of Daffodil Cottage, both through previous visits to Bathurst and the lobbying of Bathurst MP Paul Toole.
She said there were a number of similar cancer cottages across the state and it was a very successful model.
“This is a pretty special place because it has been built by the community and it is very much community focused,” Ms Skinner said.
“The health system right across this state is absolutely blessed with the number of volunteers who offer their time and the staff and volunteers at Daffodil Cottage just make it such a welcoming, homely place.”
Daffodil Cottage Advisory Council chair Peta Gurdon-O’Meara said a second storey had been considered as part of planning for the extensions but it was decided a lift would be too expensive for the community to fund.
Instead, Bathurst architect Derek Moses had produced a design that would maximise the use of space on a single level.
Ms Gurdon-O’Meara said the committee again looked forward to the support of the Bathurst community.
“We are again asking Bathurst to dig deep so we can proceed with the extensions and continue the cancer care programs for the people of Bathurst and surrounding districts,” she said.