A CHARITY dedicated to helping people through terminal illness in their own home is appealing for help from the public to help buy much-needed new equipment.

Rennie Grove Hospice Care says that medical advances mean their patients are often living longer but have more complex conditions and, coupled with the new commissioning system that gives GPs control over funding distribution, money is becoming tighter.

Director of Nursing at Rennie Grove, Sue Varvel, explains: "Not only must our nurses offer appropriate clinical care for patients facing more than one life-limiting illness, but they are also required to provide more detailed assessments to healthcare partners.

"To meet this challenge, we need to equip them with a more comprehensive set of tools: not just further training but also essential items such as thermometers, pulse oximeters and blood pressure cuffs.

"The pressure on our nurses to report in more detail to our healthcare partners is ultimately a good thing: it shows that commissioners trust and rely on our clinical knowledge and standards of care. Providing our nurses with more of the right equipment will be invaluable in helping them to continue to achieve these standards."

Around £2,400 is needed to equip all IRGH nurses with thermometers, £1,080 for pulse oximeters - which measure oxygen saturation levels - and £1,200 for blood pressure cuffs.

If you would like donate towards this equipment, call 01442 890222 or go to www.renniegrove.org/equipment