We’re delighted and excited to announce that BBC Children in Need has awarded us a grant of £132,146, over three years, to help us provide care and support for babies with life-shortening conditions and their brothers and sisters at Grace’s Place.
The grant will fund a perinatal nurse who will help improve the quality of life for newborn babies, as well as the emotional wellbeing of their siblings and families - at Grace’s Place, in family homes and within neonatal and paediatric intensive care units in north Manchester and Lancashire.
BBC Children in Need grants have enabled us to run our perinatal nursing service at our other hospice, Russell House in Huddersfield, for many years, so it’s fantastic that we’re able to offer the same vital service at Grace’s Place.
It gives families the choice of where their baby receives care, meaning that babies who would otherwise live their whole life on a hospital ward surrounded by machines and strangers will instead be able to experience those things all babies should experience: time in their own loving homes, being cuddled by mums and dads, brothers and sisters. Our perinatal nurse will also help those siblings cope with what’s happening, spend time with their new brother or sister, as well as their parents, grandparents and wider family to aid their understanding and create precious memories.
We’re currently in the process of recruiting this perinatal nurse as well as a number of other roles as Grace’s Place moves ever closer to fully opening its doors.