MANORLANDS is facing closure within months due to a funding crisis.

Sue Ryder, which runs the Oxenhope hospice, says income has dried-up because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The charity, which relies on public donations to maintain its services, has had to close its shops and cancel fundraising events.

Now, with a potential funding gap of £12 million over the next three months, Sue Ryder is warning that without immediate financial support it will be forced to shut its hospices and stop providing its other end-of-life services.

Calls for emergency funding from the Government have so far drawn a blank, and the organisation is issuing a plea to the public for help.

An online appeal has been set-up in a bid to save Manorlands and the charity's six other hospices, plus two neurological care centres, across the country.

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 – or £3.6m a year.

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

Heidi Travis, the charity's chief executive, says the funding crisis comes as the NHS is relying on Sue Ryder to provide support caring for thousands of families as part of the battle against coronavirus.

"We have been calling on the Government to support us but no funding has materialised," she added.

"The country will lose its hospices at a time when they are needed most.

"This is a plea and no less, we cannot wait any longer.

"Our doctors and nurses are working night and day to provide end-of-life care to more people now then ever before, and that will continue in the coming weeks.

"We are a critical frontline support service in the fight against coronavirus, yet we are on the brink of closure.

"We're all facing something we have never faced before and we are asking the public to give whatever you can afford to help us to help those who need it most."

The message is echoed by Joanna Longden, a nurse at Manorlands.

She said the hospice was facing a "huge challenge" in the next few weeks.

"All of our shops have closed and nearly all of our fundraising activities have stopped – resulting in a massive drop in our income," she added.

"For the very first time, we are finding ourselves in the position where we might not be able to afford to continue providing end-of-life care.

"We are so very proud of the work we do, the expert care we give and the vital support we provide to the NHS, thanks to our generous supporters.

"Now we find ourselves needed more than ever before. It is devastating to think we might not be able to continue. I cannot imagine what our patients would do without us.

"This is why I am asking people for their help. If we can raise enough money to help us get through the next few weeks, we stand a chance. It will make all the difference.

"We are all facing something we have never faced before, which is why Sue Ryder has launched an emergency appeal.

"I am asking you to please give whatever you can afford. Every pound you donate could make the difference to whether we can continue to be there when it matters for local families in the future. It is that simple."

Keighley’s town mayor, Councillor Peter Corkindale, has a close appreciation of the work carried out at Manorlands – his son serves as a volunteer driver for the hospice and good friends work there.

“What they do at Manorlands is absolutely amazing,” he said.

“The palliative care they provide is exceptional and helps take pressure off the NHS – which is particularly important at this time.

“It may be family or close friends, but there will be people we know who will need Manorlands’ help.

“If the hospice wasn’t there, where would people go?

“It’s high time the Government looked at funding hospices.

“During this particular period it should be providing 100 per cent funding – and then looking to the future, covering at least half the running costs of our hospices.”

Donations to the Sue Ryder appeal can be made at sueryder.org/donate.