SINGAPORE — The new Assisi Hospice, to be ready in 2016, will not only have more beds but will also be able to better meet the needs of dementia patients with a specialised 16-bed ward.

The hospice, which had its groundbreaking ceremony yesterday, is working with the Health Ministry for a capital grant and donors to raise funds for the building, which is to cost some S$70 million.

The grounds for the “patient-centric” facility will be located directly next to the current Assisi Hospice at Thomson Road. It will more than double the hospice’s capacity to 85 beds.

Associate Professor Premarani Kannusamy, Chief Executive Officer of Assisi Hospice, said: “Because we have a waiting list (for beds), some of them, either they go to an acute hospital for treatment or some of them wait, and some of them actually die while waiting.”

Apart from the specialised dementia ward, the hospice will also have a dedicated paediatric palliative care ward. Both of these will be the first of their kind in Singapore.

The new hospice will also have a larger daycare centre, which will be able to serve 50 patients, 20 more than it currently does.

Established in 1969 as Assisi Home for the poor and sick, it was reconstituted as Assisi Hospice in 2007, focusing on care for those with life-threatening diseases and the poor.

Health Minister Gan Kim Yong, who attended the ground-breaking ceremony yesterday, said: “As our population ages, there will be more people living with advanced cancer and chronic diseases and by 2020, we can expect to have more than 10,000 Singaporeans in need of end-of-life care.”

To care for patients who wish to die at home, the hospice is increasing its number of home palliative care teams from three to five to help 500 more patients.

A Centre for Palliative Care Education and Therapy will also be established in the new building.

This will include a centre for grief and bereavement education, which will carry out training as well as public awareness programmes.

Separately, as part of Nurses’ Day celebrations, nurses at Assisi have developed evidence-based guidelines to improve practices in palliative care in the areas of fall prevention, pressure ulcers and swallowing difficulties.