Windsor's celebrated Thames Hospice is appealing for supporters to be extra generous as fundraising activities are cancelled and the charity's financially vital shops are forced to close.

The hospice in Hatch Lane cares for people facing terminal illness and their families.

Now it has opened its doors to people who may have COVID-19.

The building will now be divided into two clinical areas with separate entrances - patients who do not have the virus being nursed in shared wards and those with the virus in single rooms.

Head of marketing Stephanie Peters had a message for supporters, saying: "We rely on the generosity of our local community for the majority of our funding and without your donations we couldn’t keep the doors open. In these extraordinary times our fundraising activities are having to be cancelled or postponed and our shops closed for the foreseeable future.

"We’ve never needed you our wonderful supporters, more than we need you today. Please donate what you can."

Taking COVID-19 patients has necessitated some changes in the way the hospice works.

The Sanctuary on the Inpatient Unit will only be available to relatives of COVID-19 patients where they will be able to access support from the Pastoral Care Team. While complementary therapy treatments will only be offered to patients on the Inpatient Unit (non-COVID-19 patients only) until further notice.

The hospice is limiting visitors to those specifically visiting patients or using its services, including lymphoedema and counselling.

All service users, staff, volunteers, contractors, relatives, and friends are asked to consider whether they could be a potential carrier of the coronavirus and therefore pose a risk to others using the hospice.

Visitors are being asked to use hand gel prior to entering the clinical area.

To make a donation to the hospice visit www.thameshospice.org.uk/donate