Fight to save Zoe's Place: "Let's throw the kitchen sink at this"
A meeting is being held today to try and form a plan to save the hospice
A meeting is being held today to try and form a plan to save Zoe's Place from closure.
The West Derby baby hospice announced earlier this week that it will close its doors after plans to move to a new site fell through.
Trustees said there wasn't enough time and money to relocate before the lease at the current site expires.
West Derby MP Ian Byrne is due to meet the board of Zoe's Place today (10 October).
He said:
"Hopefully from that meeting, we can come out with a plan which utilises all the offers of help and support and we look at how we can keep Zoe's Place open.
"Maybe finding a temporary home while the building of the planned new home takes place, I think that would be the best outcome, but we cannot lose this unbelievable, wonderful service staffed by so many wonderful people who do so much good for the people of West Derby, the city and beyond.
"Throw the kitchen sink at this to keep it open"
"It's a precious resource and unfortunately in this city over the last couple of decades, we've lost unbelievable resources and we cannot allow Zoe's Place to be one of those that have been lost.
"Meet Thursday and throw the kitchen sink at this to keep it open, Zoe's Place within the heart of West Derby and moving forward, build that unbelievable facility which will change lives for generations moving forward."
Zoe's Place is Liverpool's only hospice for babies and children aged 0-5 with life-limiting and complex conditions.
A fundraising target of £3.5million was set earlier this year for the new state-of-the-art home, but that wasn't reached and costs have increased further still.
Celebrities including Robbie Fowler and Jamie Webster are the latest to show their support.
Comedian and podcaster Adam Rowe, who grew up a stone's throw from Zoe's Place, has set up a fundraising show later this month to raise money for the hospice.
He told us that he's more hopeful of a positive outcome after seeing the outpouring of support over the last few days.
Adam said:
"I'm feeling a lot more hopeful than I was on Monday and I know the girls who work there are too, because the response to the news has been quite overwhelming and I'm really quite proud of the city.
"I'm not sure there's another city in the country that is capable of a reaction like this and mobilising the people with profile and the radio stations and the radio personalities and just everyone getting behind the cause like this.
It's something to be really proud of as a city and the fact we've got landlords and property developers and estate agents getting in touch with us and with Zoe's Place direct and being like, look, come and have a look at what we've got, see if anything's suitable, it's a lot more hopeful than it was on Monday.
"We've got 28 days until they will make a final decision. 28 days.
"Just to put this in perspective, there are currently 50 babies under the care of Zoe's Place, they estimate that nine of them would find homes in other hospitals around Liverpool and the North West, 41 of them will get no help at all as of the end of this year if this place closes. So that's what we're faced with.
"41 babies who are either seriously affected with illness or literally on end of life care will not get any help. Their families will not get any help from anywhere if we don't save Zoe's Place. And we've got 28 days to do it.