Dubbo's Macquarie Home Stay to name new precinct after CWA

"My sister-in-law was a classic. She was going through cancer treatment and she said if she couldn't have stayed there she wouldn't have coped in a motel," Mrs Beames said.

"She said she felt the warmth of this place and how it really was a home away from home."

It's a story Macquarie Home Stay hears on an almost daily basis.

The organisation provides accommodation for people who are travelling to Dubbo for medical treatment. It's made affordable for those in need due to subsidies and bulk billing.

Managing director Rod Crowfoot has had people say "if we can't stay with you, we can't afford anywhere else so we can't come for treatment".

"For some patients, treatment goes for six weeks, but they run out of money within two or three weeks. They'll say 'I'll go as long as I can and run out of money, then stop', which is obviously not ideal. Or they'll say 'I can't afford treatment at all'," Mr Crowfoot said.

"That potentially may end their life earlier or they'll have poorer health outcomes, and if affects their families too."

But a new expansion to Macquarie Home Stay, catering for cancer patients will help alleviate that financial burden.

Construction will begin on 26 new self-contained units in December. They should be finished by Spring 2024.

For Mrs Beames, the NSW Country Women's Association president, the news of the construction is even sweeter. The new precinct will be named the CWA of NSW Guesthouse.

It's in honour of the fundraising the organisation has done for Macquarie Home Stay throughout the years, starting in 2015 when they sold their Dubbo rooms.

Mr Crowfoot said it wasn't unusual to open the mailbox to find a cheque from a CWA branch across the state. And Mrs Beames told the Daily Liberal, now the new building was named after the CWA, they would be stepping up the fundraising even further.

The new precinct will be a mixture of one bedroom, two bedroom and family units to cater for the broad range of patients who will be using them. Each unit will be fitted with a kitchenette, and there will also be common areas for those who are staying to gather.

But Mr Crowfoot said there was more to the precinct than just the four walls.

The detail he is most excited about is the tea and coffee station that will be in the common area.

"For me, it's not just a tea and coffee station, it's the process of making a cup of tea... Radiotherapy treatment can last for 15 minutes, so there's 23/5 hours in a day they've got to fill in," Mr Crowfoot said.

He envisions residents being able to take the time to boil a kettle, let tea bags steep and then having a cuppa in some quality china in a relaxing sitting area.

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