Martin House News

Martin House Marks Hospice Care Week

Children’s hospice Martin House is urging people to support its vital care to children and young people with life-shortening conditions as it marks Hospice Care Week this month.

Hospice Care Week, which runs from 5th to 11th October, is organised by national charity Hospice UK, and aims to highlight the work of the more than 200 hospices across the UK providing palliative care to thousands of people.

Clair Holdsworth, interim chief executive of Martin House, said: “Every year it takes an army of people to make the care we provide to families happen.

“This includes all the specialists that make up our care team, the fundraisers who bring in the money, and the staff and volunteers who support us to make sure Martin House can run smoothly.

“But due to the pandemic, it also now takes so much more, as we’ve had to introduce new measures to protect our children, staff and volunteers, and we’ve had to adapt how we provide care to keep everyone safe.” Martin House cares for babies, children and young people with life-shortening conditions from across West, North and East Yorkshire, including providing respite stays, emergency care, end of life care and bereavement support.

It costs £9 million a year to run Martin House, and the hospice relies on fundraising and voluntary income for nearly 90 per cent of that figure.

Clair added: “It still takes a huge amount of money to provide the kind of specialist care children and young people need, but with the effects of the pandemic, it also means that raising money is harder than ever before.

“The truth is, we can’t run Martin House without the support of our communities, and Hospice Care Weeks gives us the chance to remind people of how vital our service is, and what it takes to keep going.”

To find out more about Martin House and how you can support its work, visit www.martinhouse. org.uk.