Acorns Children's Hospice refurbishment to begin after fundraiser

Refurbishment work is to begin at a children's hospice after an appeal raised more than £100,000.

Acorns Children's Hospice in Walsall will close for six months from Sunday to allow for the first phase of work.

An agreement has been made with Lichfield's St Giles Hospice to enable Acorns' children and staff to use three of its rooms during the closure.

Acorns' director of care said the charity was "so thankful" to people who donated towards the work.

It launched the £750,000 appeal to pay for upgrades to its 10-bedroom facility in Walsall in February.

The hospice, which helps some 200 children a year, was saved from closure last April after a £2m fundraising drive.

It will be the first upgrade since the site opened 20 years ago.

Emma Aspinall, Acorns Director of Care, said: "This is a significant development in the project to bring our Walsall hospice up to date for local families.

"We're so thankful to the many people who have donated to our appeal so far, giving us the confidence to begin these works in the knowledge that the local community is well on the way to helping us reach the finish line.

"We are hugely grateful also to St Giles for their support."

The work at Acorns will see the 10 children's bedrooms upgraded and a new purpose-built arts and crafts room.

The project will also see the hospice become the first at Acorns to have piped oxygen and suction devices built into the rooms.

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