More than £60K raised for new 'cuddle beds' at Prince of Wales Hospice

Jason Hawley, was born with Down Syndrome and epilepsy and in 2015 he was diagnosed with Downs-related dementia.

As Jason’s condition progressed, The Prince of Wales Hospice reached out to Jason’s family to offer care.

It was during his stays at the hospice nurses were able to provide the ‘Cuddle Bed’ for Jason and his parents – a large bed designed to ensure loved ones can lay together at a time they need it most.

With only one of the special beds available, nurses were torn when other families hoped to use it and so created Nurses Wish List and reached out to the community with the hope of them helping raise funds to buy more essential items.

True to form, people and businesses reached out and in five months they were able to buy more.

Jo Benson, Nurse Manager at The Prince of Wales Hospice said: “We are so grateful for the generosity and support.

"Knowing that there are people in the community who continue to support the hospice makes such a difference to everyone here – staff and patients alike.

"We can now get a brand new second ‘Cuddle Bed’, which will mean we can make sure as many patients as possible get the opportunity to be physically close to their loved ones when they need each other most.

"We’ll also be able to invest in new specialist beds and mattresses to help prevent pain and discomfort from pressure sores, along with overbed tables that make it much easier for patients to reach their meals, drinks, books and laptops while they sit in bed.

"Little things like this make such a difference to how patients feel when they’re with us.

“Our job is to make our patients’ lives as comfortable as possible in their final weeks and days and now, thanks to the local community, we have the equipment we need to make those final weeks as precious as they can be.”