CARING Keighley News readers have helped raise an incredible £430,000-plus for Manorlands as it battles for survival.

Bosses at the Oxenhope Sue Ryder hospice have praised the public for its "most wonderful" response to an emergency appeal launched early in lockdown.

But they warn that Manorlands' desperate struggle to keep its doors open is far from over – in the remainder of this financial year alone, a funding gap of £1.5 million is anticipated.

And a renewed plea has been made to the community.

"The coronavirus pandemic is having a huge impact on us," said Manorlands' hospice director, Lizzie Procter.

"All our shops closed overnight and our fundraising activities had to stop immediately. This resulted in a deeply concerning drop in income and for the very first time, our future was in doubt.

"We received the most wonderful response to our emergency appeal from local people, who have so far raised around £432,000. I would like to say a heartfelt 'thank you' from all of us at Sue Ryder. We are so very grateful for the support shown.

"Unfortunately our struggle is not over. Our fundraising events remain cancelled for the rest of this year, we have no clear indication of how long it will take for our shops to return to normal trading levels and we continue to incur the additional cost of purchasing personal protective equipment for our doctors and nurses."

Mrs Procter said the Prime Minister had recently announced a £3 billion support package for health services, but that it didn't include hospices.

She added: "This means that even if we are able to avoid a second wave of this dreadful virus, by winter Manorlands will be struggling again financially.

"We still desperately need the support of our community.

"We know that times are tough for everybody. Please be reassured that every bit of support really does help."

Following the launch of the emergency appeal at the beginning of April, people of all ages staged a wide range of activities – whilst observing Covid-19 restrictions – to raise money for the hospice.

Manorlands, which opened its doors as a hospice in 1974, provides palliative and day therapy care to patients with life-limiting conditions.

Support is given at the hospice and in the community, across an area covering Craven, Airedale and Wharfedale as well as parts of Bradford.

All services are free to patients and their loved ones, but it costs £10,000 a day to keep the hospice doors open.

Only about one third of Sue Ryder's costs are covered by statutory funding.

Donations can be made at sueryder.org/donate.