THE North-East's first hospice for terminally ill babies and young children is ready to open its doors to patients.
Final checks to ensure that the building for Zoe's Place, in Normanby, Middlesbrough, conforms to national care standards have been carried out by the National Care Standards Commission and the hospice has been registered.
Almost 30 families are already on the waiting list for respite and palliative care at the hospice, which is based in the former Crossbeck House convent.
The care offered to them will be tailored to provide the best environment for babies and small children up to the age of five with life-threatening or limiting illnesses.
The hospice, which has five cots in individual rooms, is only the second of its kind in the country and is run by the Life Charity along the same lines as the original Zoe's Place, in Liverpool.
The project, which was awarded National Lottery funding last year, is expected to cost about £400,000 a year to run.
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