Heartfelt messages preserved in time capsule at Nightingale House Hospice

Heartfelt messages from the community are being sealed in a time capsule within the walls of a new inpatient unit at Nightingale House Hospice.

Coleg Cambria has teamed up with the hospice, on Chester Road, to create a time capsule where hundreds of messages will be preserved and sealed for future generations to read.

Nightingale House Hospice has reached out to the community to appeal for donations to help them create a new Inpatient Unit by the end of December this year.

Following this the hospice has received messages from people who have kindly donated to be placed inside the time capsule.

John Freeman, a lecturer from the Fabrication & Welding department at Coleg Cambria, spent a week creating the time capsule for the hospice.

“I was very happy to create the time capsule for Nightingale House,” explained John.

“I have visited Nightingale House over the years with a few family members who unfortunately passed.

“So, in a nutshell, I felt I can give back with this. A small gesture of gratitude on my behalf.

“This project was wonderful to work on as it helps build the relationship between the college and the local community.

“It was a pleasure to be part of it. I didn’t realise that Nightingale House Hospice is a charity and is predominantly funded by the community.

John Freeman and Sarah Povey holding the time capsule

Lauren Emberton, Deputy CEO at Nightingale House, said the hospice has already received “hundreds of lovely messages” from people in the community since the launch of the new Inpatient Unit appeal.

“Everyone in the hospice has been overwhelmed by the support and donations we have received from the public so far,” explained Lauren.

“The time capsule is important to capture memories, experiences, and well wishes from the community during this pivotal time.”

Commenting on the new unit, Lauren added: “The new Inpatient Unit brings many benefits to the palliative and clinical respite care we provide at Nightingale House, including 12 ensuite patient rooms with access to the garden, two nurses’ stations to ensure that our clinical team will never be more than a few yards away from their patients, and two-family rooms so family members can stay close to their loved ones.

“There is a feeling of excitement throughout the clinical team as the construction progress continues and December gets closer.

“By creating a new Inpatient Unit with modernised facilities, the team at Nightingale House will be able to offer care to more patients in the community living with life-limiting illnesses for many years to come.”

The closing date to send a message to Nightingale House to include in the time capsule is Friday, 15 September. Click here to find out more about the Nightingale House Inpatient Unit Appeal and donate.