HOSPICES in Oxford are hoping to spread even more home-from-home cheer thanks to a three-quarters of a million pound boost.

Sobell House and Helen and Douglas House hospices have received a total of £747,122 from the Department of Health for extensive facelifts.

At Sobell House, based at Oxford’s Churchill Hospital, the £310,846 will pay for gadgets to help link patients with relatives who live too far away to visit frequently.

It will provide six iPads and wireless internet so those at the hospice can keep in touch with friends and family.

Diane Gardner, chief executive of Sobell House Hospice Charity, said: “We are finding a lot of people coming into the hospice have family far away, so we are going to try to put in Skype for them to retain contact with their families.”

The hospice also aims to use the cash for alterations to the building to help patients find their way around more easily. The charity is working with the King’s Fund to work out how best to do that.

It will include improvements to entrances and exits, more and better signs, and changes to the decor.

At present, patients in the 18 bedrooms have phone access but no internet use.

The work will need to be done in the next six months.

Mrs Gardner said: “The aim is to make it easier to find your way around in a strange place, to enable people to find us from the outside easily, and to keep the patients safe.

“We are over the moon to get the funding – it’s absolutely brilliant news.”

Helen and Douglas House, in East Oxford, was granted £436,276 from the Department of Health.

The cash will be used to refurbish Helen House, which opened 30 years ago as the world’s first children’s hospice.

Chief executive Tom Hill said: “The house has been regularly maintained throughout that time. Thirty years of life, however, takes its toll on most family homes and Helen House is no different.

“There are specific areas that we had planned to refurbish, fundraising permitting, over a period of years.

“The generosity of the Department of Health now enables a lot of the work to be done in one fell swoop – after which we will refresh the interior decoration of the house.

“This will minimise disruption to the working of the hospice and undoubtedly add to the positive experiences of the children and their families who spend precious time with us.”

A total of 176 hospices across the country will benefit from the fund.

David Praill, chief executive of Help the Hospices, which administers the cash, said: “Investment in hospices is vital so they can continue to innovate, modernise and expand to meet the growing needs of the communities they serve.

“This funding will make a huge difference to the quality, dignity and compassion of the care provided.”