Hospice group plans Cornish unit

CHSW will launch its official £5m appeal in September

A children's hospice is to be built in Cornwall under plans unveiled by Children's Hospice South West (CHSW).

The first CHSW hospice, Little Bridge House, was built in 1991 at Fremington, near Barnstaple, north Devon.

In March, work on the £15m Charlton Farm hospice at Wraxall in Somerset was completed after two years.

A site has not been identified, but an appeal will be launched in September to raise £5m to cover building the hospice and the running costs for a year.

'Second home'

Heather Whitford, from Redruth, who has a son with a rare genetic condition, said she was delighted at the news.

She currently has to travel to Little Bridge House for her son's respite care which she says is important to her family.

"All of our worries and responsibilities are taken away and provided for by the care team at Little Bridge.

"To have another hospice in Cornwall would mean families like ours could have a second home like the one we have in Little Bridge House."

Julie and Nigel Libby plan to build Ellie's Haven near Looe

The charity's community fundraiser, Mary Murfin, said a Cornish hospice would also save the long journeys for people who cannot drive or have difficulty travelling to north Devon.

The CHSW announcement comes just days after the parents of a terminally-ill child from Cornwall said they hope to create the first children's hospice in the county.

Nigel and Julie Libby are aiming to raise £3m to build Ellie's Haven, a purpose-built hospice on a plot of land on the outskirts of Looe donated by a local landowner.