By Leicester Mercury | Posted: 02 September, 2015
Three decades ago, LOROS officially opened. But how did it go from being just a dream, to one of the largest hospices in the UK?
Here is a how:
December 1975: Leicester Council of Churches and Leicester Free Church Women's Council meet to discuss how they can secure better care for the terminally ill.
January 1976: Hospice Project Group is formed.
July 1976: The name of the hospice is chosen as Leicestershire Organisation for the Relief of Suffering and a steering committee is formed with Dr Andrew Cull, a general practitioner in Leicester, as chairman.
February 1977: LOROS registered as a company limited by guarantee.
March 1977: LOROS becomes a registered charity.
December 1980: Groby Road site is chosen.
January 1981: LOROS' first office chosen, at 18 Friar Lane, Leicester.
March 1981: Fund-raising appeal launches at the University of Leicester.
May 1983: LOROS' office moves to 11 Welford Road, Leicester.
September 1983: Manor Croft, a Victorian house at 147 Ratcliffe Road, Leicester, is bought for conversion to a day centre.
March 1984: LOROS president, Lady Palmer, cuts the first turf at the Groby Road site to mark the start of work on the hospice buildings.
April 1984: Manor Croft Day Centre takes its first patients.
June 1984: First person is referred to the counselling service, at Manor Croft.
September 1985: First patient is admitted to the hospice inpatient unit, which has 12 beds.
Can you remember the hospice being built?
Or was a member of your family one of the first people to be cared for at LOROS?
The team at LOROS would love to hear from you. Get in touch by emailing: stories@loros.co.uk