WORCESTER hospices are among those to benefit from a £60 million cash boost which will improve end of life care and help them look after more people.

Hospices including St Richard's in Wildwood Drive and Acorns in Bath Road have received their share of funding fron the Department of Health to improve end of life care for children and adults.

Acorns Children's Hospice Trust will get a grant of £190,624 and St Richard's will get £510,000. St Richard's will use the grant to help their £1.4 million redevelopment and expansion plans for the in-patient unit, allowing the hospice to care for a third more patients.

Hospice chief executive Mark Jackson said: "We had stiff competition from end of life care projects all over the country so we are very grateful to have been awareded such a large amount." 

He said the work would allow them to care for an extra 74 admissions a year, helping pay for four new bedrooms and change the configuration of existing rooms to give 13 single rooms and two double rooms. The bigger in-patient unit is scheduled to open to the extra patients from April next year, designed by KKE from Diglis, Worcester.

David Strudley, chief executive of Acorns Children's Hospice, said: "We are delighted by today's announcement regarding the funding for the improvement of care environments and settings of hospices across the West Midlands. The exact details of how the money will be spent at Acorns for the Three Counties (Worcester) will be announced shortly."

Other hospices in Worcestershire to benefit include Kemp Hospice in Kidderminster (£397,800) and Primrose Hospice in Bromsgrove (£503,200).

In Hereford, St Michael's Hospice got £680,000.

A total of 22 West Midlands hospices will benefit from £8.2 million which will be used to invest in creating new spaces for patients, their families and carers, whilst also supporting the care hospices provide to people in their own homes.

Some of the successful initiatives awarded funding today include: improvements to day-therapy facilities, including providing transport services; refurbishment of inpatient and visitor areas, including improvements to bedrooms and bathrooms and providing overnight facilities for families; improvements to gardens and outside spaces so patients can spend time outdoors.

Announcing the successful projects, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said: “Hospices help patients and their families at what can be the most difficult part of their life.

“This extra funding will help bring hospices up to date, so staff and volunteers can work in modern environments, helping them continue to provide wonderful support with compassion and kindness.

“And patients will see a huge difference in their surroundings that play a considerable part in helping them psychologically and physically.”

David Praill, Chief Executive of Help the Hospices, said: “Investment in hospices is vital so they can continue to innovate, modernise and expand in order to meet the growing needs of the communities they serve.

“Currently, too many people do not get the care they want or need and the numbers needing care continue to increase. Together, we face the challenge to ensure that people receive the best possible care at the end of life, irrespective of where they choose to be cared for, where they live or what condition they have.

"This funding will make a huge difference to the quality, dignity and compassion of the care provided."

The funding was committed as part of the Department of Health’s strategy to provide high quality care for all adults approaching the end of their life, launched in July 2008.