Just minutes from Southampton General Hospital, a 24-bedroom house has provided a lifeline to families of cardiac patients for more than 30 years – giving them somewhere to call home while their loved one receives specialist care.
Rotary Heartbeat House sits on Tremona Road, close to the Wessex Cardiac Centre, providing accommodation for relatives who might otherwise face lengthy journeys to and from hospital each day.
Its reach extends across a vast area – north to Oxford, east to Chichester, west to Plymouth and south to the Channel Islands – and includes families travelling across the Solent from the Isle of Wight.
For Islanders, having a base in Southampton can remove the need to repeatedly cross the Solent at a time when their focus is understandably on the person receiving treatment.
Inside are 24 bedrooms, including single and shared accommodation, alongside the everyday facilities needed by families who may suddenly find themselves living away from home.
Each room has its own food cupboard, while residents are allocated fridge and freezer space and have access to washing facilities.
The aim is to provide more than simply a bed for the night. Families can prepare food, wash clothes and spend time away from the hospital environment, all while remaining just minutes from their loved one.
Families are referred to Heartbeat House by the cardiac team at Southampton General Hospital, with the charity then able to look at their accommodation needs.
A one-off £50 key charge is made, after which families can stay for as long as they need.
That could mean a short stay while a relative undergoes treatment or making Heartbeat House their temporary home during a much longer period in hospital.
Its proximity to Southampton General Hospital is a crucial part of the support on offer.
Relatives can remain close by should a patient’s condition change or they are suddenly needed at the hospital, while patients have the reassurance of knowing their family is nearby.
The House seen today is the result of more than 3 decades of development.
Heartbeat itself was launched in October 1992, having been founded by 2 surgeons, with Rotary becoming involved during the charity’s early years. Its first chief executive was also a Rotarian.
A property opposite Southampton General Hospital was purchased in 1994, with local Inner Wheel clubs helping to furnish it.
Named Rotary Heartbeat House, it officially opened in 1995 and gave families a dedicated place to remain close to cardiac patients receiving treatment.
As demand grew, the accommodation grew with it. A further property at 150 Tremona Road was purchased in 2000, followed by 148 Tremona Road in 2004 as part of plans to redevelop the site.
A £1million extension was built in 2005, with the expanded Rotary Heartbeat House officially reopening in 2006.
Heartbeat’s historical records describe the redevelopment as creating a 25-bedroom facility, including an annexe for families with children and charity office space.
Today, the House provides 24 bedrooms and continues to serve the same fundamental purpose that led to its creation in the 1990s.
Keeping that accommodation available, however, comes at a high cost.
Figures displayed when Island Echo visited Rotary Heartbeat House showed annual running costs of £115,000. That equates to £9,583 a month, £2,211 a week or £315 every day.
The cost per bedroom was put at £4,792 a year – equivalent to £399 a month, £92 a week or £13.13 each day.
Those figures stand in contrast to the one-off £50 key charge made to families, regardless of how long they need to stay.
Fundraising and legacies play an important role in supporting Heartbeat’s work, while Rotary’s long association with the House continues through a pledge scheme which sees participating clubs commit £500 a year for 3 years.
Now, more than 20 years after the last major redevelopment, Rotary Heartbeat House is entering another chapter.
When Island Echo visited in February, Heartbeat was preparing for a £750,000 renovation aimed at modernising the House and its facilities.
Work has since begun on a £750,000 renovation project, marking the latest significant change to a building which has continued to evolve around the families who use it.
From a single property purchased more than 30 years ago to the 24-bedroom facility standing today, Rotary Heartbeat House has grown considerably.
But its purpose remains much the same – giving families, including those travelling from the Isle of Wight, somewhere to call home for as long as they need it while keeping them close to the person they came to Southampton to support.
To find out more about Heartbeat, the work it carries out for cardiac patients and their families, or how you can support the charity through fundraising and donations, visit www.heartbeat.co.uk.
