The Dorset Echo has teamed up with the Weldmar Hospicecare Trust to launch a £60,000 campaign to fund a community nurse specialising in palliative care for a year.

The scheme aims to boost the vital service provided by the charity, which helps to treat seriously ill people - free of charge - in their own homes.

It costs £60,000 a year to keep a community nurse specialist going - including their salaries, pension, travel, training, equipment and medical supplies, and the support of clinical psychologist, family and child support workers, chaplain, volunteers and admin.

In any 12 months a nurse will probably see 50 or 60 patients.

Toby Granville, editor of the Dorset Echo, said: "This is a chance for the community to change the lives of seriously ill people for the better – and help make their final months at home easier for them and their families. We're asking readers to dig deep and support our bid to fund a vital service – after all, we could all need a community nurse someday."

Weldmar Hospicecare Trust chief executive Alison Ryan said: "Patients increasingly want to choose how they are cared for and that choice at the end of life often means staying at home. We want to do our best to fit our services around the wishes of our patients and that is why we need to have more staff working in the community."

The Dorset Echo will be publishing artciles about Weldmar throughout the year - they are all collected here:

http://www.dorsetecho.co.uk/campaigns/showthem/

Donating through Justgiving is quick, easy and totally secure. It’s also the most efficient way to sponsor me: Weldmar Hospicecare Trust gets your money faster and, if you’re a UK taxpayer, Justgiving makes sure 25% in Gift Aid, plus a 3% supplement, are added to your donation.

More from Weldmar on the web:

http://www.weld-hospice.org.uk
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Weldmar-Hospicecare-Trust/33121853046
http://www.twitter.com/weldmar
http://www.youtube.com/weldmar
http://www.flickr.com/photos/weldmar/
http://donations.ebay.co.uk/charity/charity.jsp?NP_ID=28092