Parents have described the services offered by the Northern Ireland Children's Hospice as "vital" as planned cuts to bed capacity are examined by the Department of Health.On Wednesday, the department said it would "look urgently" at the plans and determine its approach by the end of the week.The service had said it might reduce capacity from seven beds week-round to six beds Monday-Friday and three at the weekend.
The charity provides specialist palliative care for more than 350 babies, children, and their families each year.Acting director Grace Stewart said she was keen to "build a sustainable funding model going forward". "It's colourful, bright, airy and the staff are so welcoming," he told BBC News NI's Good Morning Ulster.The father of 'Wee Oscar' Knox, pictured in 2013, says the hospice was invaluable to the family
"Given the loss of government funding for one of our beds, our intention is to run six beds Monday to Friday and three beds Saturday and Sunday: this is a change from our seven-beds, seven-nights model," she said.