Children to benefit from the opening of Grace’s Place

The trustees of Grace’s Place are delighted to announce that Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice, a pioneering charity based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, will be taking over the children’s hospice so that it can finally open its doors to children across Bury, Oldham and Rochdale.

There are around 650 children in the Bury, Oldham and Rochdale area who live with life-shortening conditions. The lack of a local children’s hospice has meant that the vast majority of these families have had to go further afield to access the specialist care and support they so badly need.

Grace’s Place was originally planned to open in the autumn of 2014, having refurbished the former Bury Hospice site on Dumers Lane, Radcliffe, to serve as a children’s hospice. The majority of the cost of redeveloping the building was met by a £507,000 grant from the Department of Health. However, plans for the hospice to open faltered after the charity fell into financial difficulty due to the cost of the building works. Last week building company Seddon donated the outstanding debt, which effectively wiped the slate clean.

The trustees of Grace’s Place are Councillor Joan Grimshaw, Christine Joyce and John Schofield. A spokesperson on their behalf said: “The trustees agreed that it would be best to find an experienced hospice provider to takeover Grace’s Place and get it open for local families. After developing a proper business plan, we conducted a thorough selection process and financial assessment, which found that Forget Me Not was the provider of choice.

“Public donations made to Grace’s Place have been protected and will be used to equip the hospice in readiness for opening. We couldn’t be more delighted with this outcome and will work with the team at Forget Me Not to manage the transition and ensure the hospice is up and running as quickly as possible.”

Peter Branson is chief executive of Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice: “A few months ago, the original trustees of Grace’s Place approached several children’s hospices in the region, including us, to see if anyone could find a way to restart the project. Following an exhaustive selection process, I’m delighted to say that Forget Me Not has been now chosen to take over Grace’s Place. It’s the least we can do for children in need in North Manchester– several of whom we’re already caring for. Now they’ll no longer need to travel to Huddersfield and elsewhere, and we can begin to look after many more local families.”

Peter Branson has appointed Forget Me Not’s communications director, Kirsty Franks, as interim general manager for Grace’s Place for a period of one year. During this time, Kirsty will oversee the transition from the former trustees of Grace’s Place to Forget Me Not, recruit a team of staff and volunteers, work closely with local stakeholders, build relationships with health and social care providers, and reach out to families in need around Bury, Oldham and Rochdale .

“We want to be looking after children and families from Grace’s Place as quickly as possible. We’ll be starting with a small number of services to begin with, ramping up as our new fundraising campaign allows,” says Kirsty. “Forget Me Not is a very experienced fundraiser: every year, we raise £4million to pay for our children’s hospice at Huddersfield. That’s why I have no doubt that, with our experience and with the massive local support that already exists for Grace’s Place, we’ll be running a full service within a remarkably short space of time.

“Children in North Manchester deserve the very best hospice care, and that’s what we’ll be providing from Grace’s Place,” Kirsty says. “The Care Quality Commission rated our children’s hospice in Huddersfield as ‘Outstanding’, which puts us in the top 1% of all care organisations in England. We’ll ensure that the local children and their families get nothing less than that same superb standard of care and support.

“At Forget Me Not, our simple promise is that we always say ‘yes’ to the children and families who need us. We never, ever say ‘no’, because by the time they’re referred to us, families have heard too much negativity already. It’s now time for families in Bury, Oldham and Rochdale to start experiencing that same magic of ‘yes’.”

Grace’s Place was originally set up as a partnership between Bury Hospice and Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust. As part of this new arrangement this formal partnership will now come to an end.