Supporters of Windsor's Thames Hospice are being offered a unique opportunity to sponsor a nurse.

Nurses are at the heart of the hospice in Hatch Lane, which provides vital support for people with life threatening illnesses but relies on public support and donations to survive.

Neil Harman, Thames Hospice’s director of fundraising, said: “Providing excellent nursing care is at the very core of Thames Hospice’s work and this is why we have launched Sponsor a Nurse. A donation of £6.49 could provide half-an-hour of nursing care. This will help ensure a nurse is there for a patient and their loved ones when it is needed most. Setting up your regular gift to Sponsor a Nurse is a wonderful thing to do for a local family.”

Niina-Sofia O'Leary, who is fronting the campaign, joined the Thames Hospice nursing team two years ago and works as a senior staff nurse on the inpatient unit.

She said: “The thing I most enjoy about my job is when I know I have given the best care to a person at the end of their life. It’s not only the patient we care for; we also make sure we look after their loved ones. People come here for symptom control and some come here for respite regularly; it’s not just death – it’s living and living well.”

Participants in the scheme will get a twice-yearly update and after one year a bronze pin badge, after five years a silver pin badge and a gold one after 10 years. Visit www.thameshospice.org.uk/sponsoranurse for more details.