A NEW campaign has been launched to help Bury Hospice double its capacity so that it can deliver medical care to more people living with incurable illnesses.

Since the facility opened in Rochdale Old Road back in 2013, it has only been able to open six of the 12 beds on site, leaving a waiting list of an average of four people.

It has proved to be a major source of frustration for staff and volunteers, but after looking into what would be needed to allow them to open up the remaining beds, they have now launched ‘The Six-Bed Challenge.

The hospice currently needs to raise about £2 million a year to operate, and would need to raise even more to open the additional beds.

The campaign aims to raise the money through various means, including a number of special events which are under consideration. They include a possible benefit concert and corporate sponsorship, as well as an appeal to local entrepreneurs.

The hospice hopes that the money raised will allow them to open an additional two beds in the near future, with a view to opening the remaining four soon after.

Opening the beds has been an ambition of staff and volunteers for several years. Among the most determined to ensure they are open to patients has been Deborah Lisle, who began volunteering at the hospice after her husband, John, spent his final days there in October, 2015.

His final wish was for her and other family members to fundraise to help get the remaining six beds open to patients.

She said: “John was at home for quite a long time, and every time the hospice at home nurses came, he would ask how many beds were open this week, knowing that there were 12 and only six were open.

“It was always the six, so his last wish was that we fundraise as a family to help get the other beds open so other families in Bury have access to all 12.

“That was my incentive for getting involved as a volunteer. We have got to get these other six beds open. They are there, but we need to have enough funding to be able to run them.

“It takes an awful lot of fundraising to keep enough money coming in to staff the hospice. The nurses are specialised, they are so skilled and enthusiastic about what they do, but we need more money to train them up and get more of them in to man all the rooms 24 hours a day.”

“We all want those beds open. In the long-run it is more cost-effective for people to come into the hospice than having 20 odd members of the medical staff and hospice at home nurses coming through your front door.”

Another who has dedicated herself to ensuring the beds are open is May Shipperbottom, who got involved after her son Martin died of cancer 12 years ago. He was supposed to spend his final days in the hospice, but did not make it.

Several months after his death, Ms Shipperbottom contacted the hospice to ask if she could go and volunteer. She now organises an impressive array of fundraising events, as well as running a Radcliffe-based support group.

“My son never got to the hospice,” she said. “He was in a hospital and the facilities were not very good. Had he been here, it would’ve been far easier for us as a family because we all could’ve stayed over.

“Raising the money is paramount to getting these beds open. That has been my main ambition.

“What is the point in having a building with six spare beds when there are people in the community who need the other six?

“We have got them, but we can’t service them because of a lack of funds. Those beds need to open.

“It’s so important to get somebody here. I am sure 99 per cent of the public would much prefer to be here than in a hospital.

“Whether it’s losing a child, or any other family member, you want the best place for them.”

The challenge has also received backing from the hospice’s board of trustees, including the newly-appointed chief executive, Simon Attwell, who says he shares the frustration of staff and volunteers.

He has urged members of the public to get behind the “Six-Bed Challenge” in any way they can.

People can donate in the normal way, perhaps setting up a monthly gift, playing the lottery or asking the company they work for to support the challenge.

The hospice’s head of fundraising Paul Fennelly added: “The Six Bed Challenge is about giving people a focus that by giving at the moment, you are going to make sure these beds are open. We need to increase the amount we are raising by a considerable amount to make sure we can keep those beds open.

“The most expensive part of what we do is the nursing and medical staff. The vast majority of money we raise goes towards that.

“It’s not just enough to open the beds, we have to raise the level of our fundraising, so that it’s sustainable.

“With not too much extra expense, we would probably be able to open two more beds.”

Anyone who would like to get involved or find out more about the Six-Bed Challengecan contact Mr Fennelly on 0161 797 1748 or by emailing paulfennelly@buryhospice.org.uk.