STAFF and families at Keech Cottage Children's Hospice have welcomed news this week the charity is likely to reach its target of £1 million in this financial year.

Keech Cottage, the children's hospice for Hertfordshire, announced in June last year it was facing financial difficulties and even possible closure.

To reduce spending, trustees closed two of the hospice's five beds and a fresh appeal was made to the public to support the ailing charity.

Now it seems these constraints on spending and increased support from the public have eased Keech Cottage through its immediate financial difficulties, although chief executive Mr John Quill admits they are not out of the woods yet.

He said: "The support of the public since June has been incredible.

"Thanks to this support, our financial situation has improved considerably and there is no longer an immediate threat of closure.

"However, we need this level of support year after year if we are to secure the future of the children's hospice. From April, we start all over again and must raise £1.2 million to see us through the next financial year and allow the closed beds to be reopened."

Securing long-term support has been the aim of Keech Cottage's Care to Commit campaign, which asks people to sign up to regular giving through standing order.

Head of fundraising Ms Melanie Nightingale said: "A lot of people giving a little bit of money can make a real difference to our finances.

"If we can get just 3,000 people to pledge £3 a month, we will have enough income to pay for three nurses for the next 12 months.

"This would make a huge difference to our financial situation and make both the staff and the families here feel a lot happier and more secure about the future."

With the improvement in the charity's finances, trustees have agreed to lift the freeze on staff recruitment that has been in place for the past eight months.

The charity now urgently needs to fill vacant nursing and care assistant positions in the children's hospice, while filling a number of positions in the fundraising department.

As well as reaching its fundraising target this year, the charity has successfully raised enough money to complete its hydrotherapy pool. The pool has been privately funded through charitable trusts and organisations, ensuring donations made by the public have gone directly towards funding patient care.

The pool, which will be officially opened on Friday, March 1, will provide first class hydrotherapy facilities for the hospice's children and their families. It will be made available to local disabled and special needs groups throughout Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire who may be in need of such a facility. This use will prove an important source of income for the charity, raising enough money to cover the costs of running the pool.

Anyone wishing to know more about these vacancies, or more about Care to Commit, can contact Keech Cottage on 01582 497849.