Acorns hospices across the Midlands are being forced to turn families away in the New Year because of 'compassion fatigue' amongst donors.

Up to 12 beds out of the 30 in Birmingham, Walsall and Worcester hospices will be closed from January to June 2006 because of a ten per cent shortfall in donations.

Chief executive John Over-ton said the shortfall - totalling £500,000 - was probably due to global disasters attracting the donations from people who would normally donate to Acorns.

The tsunami, the Pakistani earthquake and Hurricane Katrina, have all attracted huge sums of money from the British public this year.

Families using Acorns to get a break from their children - or children a break from their parents - are the service users who will mostly be affected.

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Parents who require emergency care or care for terminally ill children will not be turned away. Mr Overton said:

"I'd like to reassure the public and Acorns families that Acorns is a secure and successful organisation.

"However, donations to global disaster appeals such as the Tsunami have diverted more than £48 million away from UK charities this year and in the Midlands, we believe this has diverted valuable funds away from Acorns.

"For Acorns, this has come in the same year that we opened our third hospice in Worcester, increasing our costs and therefore the funds

we need to raise." The charity - which receives only 10 per cent of its funding from Government - needs £6 million per year to run its 30 beds and pay its 300 staff.

It is thought to be the first time the charity has taken the step of closing beds.

Acorns offers care to children who have conditions which mean they are unlikely to survive into adulthood.

In March it opened a new centre in Worcester. There are also hospices in Walsall and Selly Oak. The move is to ensure the books balance in the first half of the year.

"We have raised a record amount this year and also have new fundraising initiatives in the New Year, including an on-line lottery," said Mr Overton.

"We are being prudent by constraining costs all over the organisation now, to strengthen our position and ensure we can resume 'business as usual' as quickly as possible." ..SUPL: