This year has been a very special one for Dorothy House Hospice Care: not only have we celebrated our 30th birthday with a great range of fundraising events, but we are also about to see the opening of two new wings at the hospice in Winsley.

Three decades of caring when it counts began when the Dorothy House Foundation was set up in 1976, based at the Bath home of its founder Prue Dufour. A woman of vision, determination and deep faith, she saw a need for care of terminally ill patients in their community, rather than in hospital.

Inspired by the example of St Christopher's Hospice in London, Prue drew together a small team of nurses who supported people at home. She chose the name Dorothy House for the charity as a reflection of her Christian faith - Dorothy means 'gift of God'.

In 1979, Dorothy House opened its first in-patient unit for six people in Bloomfield Road, Bath. Over the next decade and a half, the hospice gradually expanded to provide education and administration facilities and a day care centre.

By 1990 the team at Dorothy House was truly multi-professional, involving nurses, doctors, physiotherapists, lymphoedema specialists, a chaplain, pharmacy and support staff, including large numbers of volunteers.

The Bloomfield Road premises were by now bursting at the seams, and in 1995 the move to Winsley took place. With its picturesque 17th century manor house setting, purpose-built in-patient facilities and beautiful grounds, Dorothy House feels more like a warm and welcoming country house than a hospital.

Over the past year, the building has been extended substantially, to provide a new education wing and an out-patient wing and chapel. The Day Care Unit has been expanded and updated, with an orangery replacing the old conservatory. At the same time, the in-patient unit has been refurbished, with every room now having an en-suite bathroom. To mark the completion of the work - funded through the private Space to Care appeal - the Princess Royal will be visiting on Thursday November 9 to perform the official opening ceremony. Although the buildings are different and the range of services has expanded, the fundamental approach to care has hardly changed since those early days, back in the 1970s.

Dorothy House provides all its care free of charge to more than 800 patients and their families. With only about 40 per cent of its funding coming from the NHS, the hospice needs to raise £6,000 every single day, just to keep services at their present level. If you would like to help Dorothy House keep on caring for the next 30 years, please contact fundraising on (01225 )721480.