THERE are growing calls for a children’s hospice to be built in South Lakeland.

Parents and families in the area currently face an hour-long car journey to the nearest hospice at Derian House, Chorley - Carlisle’s Eden Valley Hospice is even further away.

Margaret Hall, of Sedbergh, has joined a campaign set up by Furness couple Cheryl and Danny McBain.

Her two-year-old son Zak suffers severe quadriplegic cerebral palsy and a severe form of epilepsy called Lennox Gastaut Syndrome.

He has a life expectancy of 12 years and is registered blind, has profound developmental delay and associated learning difficulties, is fed through a tube into his stomache and has severe reflux and stiff limbs.

“He can’t do anything for himself, not even smile,” said Mrs Hall, 33, who looks after Zak 90 per cent of the time as her husband Gary, 34, is in the Royal Navy.

“The only break I get is the irreplacable days at Derian House. We really do cherish the time there.”

She said one of the main benefits was being able to spend quality time with her daughter Ashleigh, 11, who is not always able to go to Derian House as she can only have so much time off school.

The family are entitled to 14 nights a year at the hospice, which they split into three blocks, but Mrs Hall is currently learning to drive so they have to fit it around Mr Hall being able to have time off work.

They also need to take lots of equipment for Zak including an indoor chair, wheelchair, medication, feeding pump, sleep system for his bed, clothes and nappies.

“Because Derian House is so far away we haven’t been able to leave Zak and come home,” said Mrs Hall. “I could never forgive myself if the worst were to happen and I was either not there or not able to get there in time.

“If we had somewhere closer we would be able to leave him and keep things normal for Ashleigh. She has already had a huge upheaval in her life just with having a severly disabled little brother. She could still go to school, do her homework and see her firends.

“We could visit Zak and come home and I could get some sleep, catch up on housework or just have a bath.”

Mrs Hall said it would also create a local support system of parents going through the same thing.

The McBains, from Barrow, launched a petition last year following the death of their six-month-old son Kai, who died of Pyruvate Dehydrogenase Deficiency, a rare genetic condition for which there is no cure.

The petition has attracted almost 900 signatures on the 10 Downing Street website but will be taken off on February 24.

Westmorland and Lonsdale MP Tim Farron has tabled an Early Day Motion in the House of Commons calling for a children’s hospice to be built in South Lakeland.

He said: “The exhausting effect of a two-hour round trip to the nearest hospice is unacceptable, which is why it is obvious that there is a real need for this vital service in south Cumbria.”