Hospice first in the north with cuddle bed in every room

A hospice has become the only one in the north of England to have a "cuddle bed" in every room.

St Leonard's in York took delivery of five cuddle beds after successfully fundraising £75,000.

The hospice now has 14 of the specially adapted beds, allowing partners and family members to lie side-by-side with their loved ones.

Families and staff said the beds change the experience for anybody spending time at St Leonard's.

The beds are adjustable to make them wider than traditional hospice beds and cost around £20,000 each.

Louise Ryan's husband Nick spent his last days in St Leonard's while fighting a brain tumour. Their experience inspired the family to fundraise for a cuddle bed to help others in their position.

Ryan said: "When Nick was near the end of his life, he just wanted comfort and closeness, and my children and I wanted to be close to him. One night one of the nurses told us about these magical things called cuddle beds, and the next morning my sister-in-law told us they were going to raise £20,000 to buy one.

"I thought they were crazy, but with the community's support they ended up raising enough for four beds.

"I can't believe how much the community has come together to fundraise and we've got this many beds now. It's so heartwarming and to know that it started in Nick's memory is just amazing."

St Leonard's director of clinical services Anne-Marie Roberts said the community response to the fundraising would change the lives of patients in their care.

"We want to say a huge thank you to everybody who contributed," she said.

"No matter how large or small, it has made a huge difference to the people that we look after and their families."

Oxfordshire-based Montcalm Care, which supplies the cuddle beds, said it had seen a 50% increase in orders in 2025 from hospices across the UK.

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