As part of their generous £1million donation, the 64 Trust has bought Claire House Children’s hospice a ‘cuddle bed’, that allows families to be together at some of the most difficult times of their lives.
The cuddle bed is one of the first purchases made with funds from the Trust, that will be spent on providing new equipment, vital medical care and complementary therapies, as well as improving the charity’s site in West Derby Liverpool.
Lesley Fellows, nurse consultant at Claire House said: “We only get one chance to make a difference to seriously ill children and their families. We are so grateful to the 64 Trust for this new piece of equipment. It’s been on our wish list for ages but we simply couldn’t afford it.
“The bed is big enough for members of the family to be together on the bed and can be a great source of comfort and reassurance in the last hours, days or weeks of a child’s life.
“When we are offering end of life care, one of the most frequent things that families tell us is that they want to be able to get close to their child and give them a cuddle.
“This might sound simple, but if their child is really ill, they might be scared to lift them for fear of hurting them. This bed allows families to get close, without causing them any further distress. It might seem simple, but it makes a massive difference.
“We’ve also managed to have siblings for sleepovers and done movie nights. This creates memories that last lifetimes.”
John Nelson a Trustee at the 64 Trust said: “We are so happy to have been able to provide such a vital piece of equipment. We are just at the start of an amazing partnership between the Trust and the hospice, that is going to make a massive difference to seriously ill children in Merseyside and beyond.”
The money from the 64 Trust will also be spent on developing the site in Liverpool from where the charity currently offers day care, clinics, play and music sessions, complementary therapies and counselling. Plans underway include:
- Building up our nursing team by creating five new posts and sustaining our existing respite and nursing service
- Refurbishing our Hydrotherapy Pool at Claire House Wirral
- Antenatal classes to support expectant parents through a pregnancy that is likely to result in their child having complex needs or sadly surviving for just a short period of time
- Improving equipment, such as providing nurses with new tablets and the complementary therapies team with new materials
