FUNDING has been provided for a ground-breaking end of life service for dementia sufferers in North Yorkshire.

Herriot Hospice Homecare says the £66,000 pilot project will support 150 people with dementia living in Hambleton and Richmondshire.

It is one of a handful of home-based hospices in the UK to receive funding from Hospice UK – through the St James’s Place Foundation – and has been announced as part of National Hospice Week.

The money will employ an “Admiral Nurse” - who specialises in providing care and support to people with dementia and their families.

The nurse, supported by palliative health care assistants, volunteers, drivers and befrienders, will deliver home-based care and support to some of the most remote parts of North Yorkshire.

The country's first Admiral Nurse was appointed by St Cuthbert’s Hospice in Durham City.

Karen Wilkinson-Bell, chief executive of Herriot Hospice Homecare, said: "The number of people with dementia is likely to rise disproportionately in North Yorkshire and along with a recent estimate that one in three babies born today are likely to experience dementia in their lifetime, it paints a very bleak picture.

“This is why we have identified dementia care as one of our key strategic service priorities over the next three years and why the funding from Hospice UK, through the St James‘s Place Foundation, couldn’t have come at a better time.”

Herriot Hospice Homecare has received grant funding of £40,000, with a further £26,000 from its own reserves.

“We are hoping this project will demonstrate how the introduction and sharing of a specialist resource like an Admiral Nurse could potentially provide benefits across health and social care, particularly in a dispersed rural setting.”