Erin Dean finds out how a hotel on the Dorset coast is providing much-needed breaks for patients, families and carers

Bournemouth is the setting for the Grove Hotel, which caters for guests with cancer and other life-limiting illnesses, and their carers and families. The hotel is a non-profit venture, owned by local charity Macmillan Caring Locally. Guests can relax in the hotel’s peaceful surroundings or explore the New Forest and Dorset coastline by coach. The hotel provides 24-hour nursing cover, although nurses are not insured to provide hands-on care. Instead, they assess whether or not people are well enough to stay at the hotel before their visit, and liaise with healthcare teams before and during stays.