10:24 am, May 24, 2024
A car dealership in Cornwall has stepped in to help keep a hospice’s urgent care services on the road.
Roger Young, which is based in Saltash, is lending St Luke’s Hospice a new Suzuki Ignis hybrid four-wheel-drive hatchback so that the hospice’s expert teams can navigate tricky terrain.
The Plymouth charity’s teams clock up more than 80,000 miles each year, delivering their specialist end-of-life care directly to the homes of patients in east Cornwall, west Devon and the South Hams, meaning it’s vital for them to have transport they can rely on, especially in rural areas.
Roger Young’s newly opened Suzuki showroom handed over the keys to the Ignis to bolster the charity’s fleet for the next six months.
St Luke’s added east Cornwall to its patch late last year to support its NHS colleagues in the area after identifying a gap in services.
The SUV, complete with St Luke’s branding, can now be seen negotiating the highways and byways, helping to make sure compassionate end-of-life care arrives where and when it’s needed.
Managing director Roger Young said: ‘We’ve always recognised St Luke’s as such a good organisation. Unfortunately, so many of us know people who need their support.’
St Luke’s CEO George Lillie added: ‘We are incredibly grateful to Roger Young and his Suzuki showroom team for this wonderful gesture.
‘We really couldn’t do what we do without the support of generous local businesses like this.
‘Having the Ignis as part of our fleet will allow our urgent care nursing team to reach more patients who desperately need the best specialist services brought directly to their doorsteps.’
At Christmas, the Roger Young dealership chain hosted a Cards and Cars charity evening and auction that raised more than £10,000 for St Luke’s.
It also lent a Jaguar E-Pace for the initial pilot of the urgent care team’s east Cornwall service last December.
Pictured at top from left are head of sales Danny Street with St Luke’s Hospice healthcare assistants Gemma Lyall and Clare Bouvier. Picture credit: Paul Slater Images
