PLANS to extend and upgrade the Wisdom Hospice at Rochester have been unveiled. The £1.1 million scheme would see refurbished ward and care areas, and Pilgrim House knocked down and replaced by a new day hospice building.

Friends of the Wisdom Hospice have drawn up plans with West Kent Health Authority and the Thames Gateway NHS Trust. Building would start next April and be completed within two years. Tessa Sillar, chairman of the project team, said: "Wisdom Hospice is in need of upgrading so that patients are cared for in accommodation that meets modern-day standards, as required under the Government's 10-year modernisation strategy, the NHS Plan.

"This is an exciting scheme for the benefit of communities in Medway, Sittingbourne, and the Isle of Sheppey - the areas served by the Wisdom Hospice." Some of the money needed for the project would come from donations already made by local fundraisers, with the balance met through grants and fundraising by the Friends.