Specialist palliative care is now being provided in Great Yarmouth and Waveney after a new service began.

St Elizabeth Hospice will work with East Coast Community Healthcare (ECCH) to offer end-of-life care to people in the seaside town, which does not have a hospice, from Monday (April 1).

Patients will have access to six beds at Beccles Hospital, supported by a consultant and nursing staff.

Specialist support will also be provided at the James Paget University Hospital, as well as a 24/7 helpline and some home care.

Ian Turner, chairman of St Elizabeth Hospice, said: “We are delighted to be working alongside ECCH in this exciting project.

“It commits our organisations to a partnership for at least the next five years. During this time, we very much hope to build on the initial agreement by working alongside other partners in the Area to secure the full range of hospice services.

“We intend to issue further updates as our discussions progress in the coming months We remain hugely grateful to all of our loyal supporters, without whom this project development would be simply impossible.”

• An initial version was published with a picture of All Hallows Healthcare Trust. This was incorrect and should have been a picture of Beccles Hospital, as now shown. We apologise for the error and any confusion caused.