A local charity-operated hospice will be highlighted in a BBC Lifeline appeal this month.

The Sue Ryder Thorpe Hall Hospice, which provides a range of crucial services in Cambridgeshire, hopes to increase understanding of and support for hospices through the high-profile appearance.

Allison Mann, service director at Sue Ryder Hospice, called for people to tune in.

Ms Mann said: “Being featured as part of the BBC Lifeline appeal gives Sue Ryder the opportunity to share more about what we do and the support we need to keep delivering our services with potentially hundreds of thousands of TV viewers.

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"Sue Ryder is there when it matters, providing palliative care from the very point of diagnosis, to offering expert symptom control during their treatment, right through to being at people’s bedside at the end of life, whether that be in a hospice like Sue Ryder Thorpe Hospice, or in their home if that’s their wish."

She pointed out that the cost of operating such facilities is significant and not fully supported by government funding.

“Currently, the government provides only about one third of the funding that hospices like Sue Ryder Thorpe Hall Hospice needs and, like the rest of the palliative care sector, we rely on fundraising activities and voluntary donations to cover the remaining costs."

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She hopes this feature on the BBC Lifeline will highlight the need for palliative care and the challenges many individuals face when needing these essential services.

"Sue Ryder relies on people running marathons or selling second-hand cardigans in our shops to keep our services open.

"This must change so we can ensure no one is left to grieve or die alone," she added.

The Sue Ryder Lifeline appeal can be seen on BBC1 on August 18 at 1.50pm, and replayed on BBC2 on August 23 at 12.50pm.