New care for children as hospice wish is granted
ACHARITY’S Christmas wish to start caring for very sick children before the end of the year has been granted.
A desperately-needed children’s hospice due to open three years ago has finally opened following a takeover and the generosity of the people of Greater Manchester.
Grace’s Place in Radcliffe, Bury, was refurbished at a cost of £1.2m in 2014, including a £507,000 Department of Health grant, but with debts of more then £350,000 and no cash for staff it stood empty.
In July, Huddersfieldbased Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice, which was rated ‘outstanding’ by the Care Quality Commission, took it over.
The charity already runs a hospice in Yorkshire at a cost of £4m a year.
It is estimated around 650 children – many of whom are terminally ill – from Bury, Oldham, and Rochdale, could benefit from a hospice, but currently have to travel up to 30 miles to get support.
Since the takeover the charity has started to thrive with local groups, businesses and individual supporters working to reach its first campaign target of raising £60,000 before Christmas in order to allow them to start offering care through their Hospice at Home service.
The charity’s royal patron, Princess Beatrice, visited the children’s hospice to meet local families who will be able to benefit from the services the charity. They included Grace Tinarwo after whom the centre is named, and her mother, Sarah.
The hospice will open for in-house care next year.
The £60,000 raised will pay for four nurses to start providing a Hospice at Home service to some of these families.
Nine families are already signed up to this service, and referrals are open to families in the three towns who would benefit from clinical care, counselling, therapies and practical support in the comfort of their home.
Kirsty Franks, general manager of Grace’s Place, said: “We made a very clear promise that we would be caring for children and families by the end of the year and thanks to the hard work of all our supporters we’ve been able to make some Christmas magic happen for local families.
“So much has happened since we got the keys to Grace’s Place, but there’s still so much more to do. We’re now working hard to finalise the facilities available at Grace’s Place, creating a new wing and making sure the bedroom suites are suitable for visiting children and their families.
“With continued support from the local community and businesses from across Greater Manchester, I’m confident we’ll be able to make more magic happen and open the doors of Grace’s Place to families by autumn next year.”
As part of Forget Me Not’s fundraising drive, it is opening two charity shops early in 2018, in Rochdale and Royton, with more planned for later in the year. »●To find out more about how you can help Grace’s Place say yes to children and families in North Manchester, visit forgetmenotchild.co.uk/ gracesplace