A hospice charity that has spread is wings into the Great Yarmouth and Waveney area has benefited 105 patients in the region since April figures out this week show.

Last year St Elizabeth Hospice opened specialist palliative day care services at Gorleston, Lowestoft and Beccles.

Since April it has also provided three hospice beds at All Hallows Hospital in Ditchingham, near Bungay and which is which is run by the All Hallows Healthcare Trust and has 30 beds.

The free to use services are part of a major £2.2m investment by the Ipswich-based charity in Waveney and Yarmouth over a three-year period as there is a lack of palliative care provision for the region.

It will also enable people to be cared for near to where they live.

This week St Elizabeth Hospice said that since April 105 patients in the area had benefited from the new services and there have been more than 150 phone calls to the hospice's 24 hour advice line for Yarmouth and Waveney - 0800 567 0111.

Jane Petit, chief executive of St Elizabeth Hospice, said: 'We knew there was a huge need for hospice services in this area locally and these figures prove that patients and their carers are coming forward to get the specialist help they have always needed.'

She added: 'We are pleased so many patients have come forward and we know these figures will grow each month as the word spreads and we continue to raise awareness of our services.'

Mrs Petit also said the feedback from patients - who have been referred with illnesses including cancer, kidney failure, motor neurone disease and respiratory failure – had been excellent.

One of those patients is Richard Brighton, 29, of Gorleston who was diagnosed with bowel cancer in June 2011.

He said: 'I had just finished chemotherapy for cancer when I was told about the new St Elizabeth Hospice service. I have been getting a lot of support from it and have benefited in many ways.

'I would encourage people who think St Elizabeth Hospice can help them to get in touch with their staff.'

The charity, which has been providing services in East Suffolk since 1989 and has an 18 bed unit in Ipswich, also has three charity shops in Yarmouth Lowestoft and Halesworth.

This week the charity received another boost after it passed an inspection by the Care Quality Commission.

The inspection took place in December and the published report shows the hospice has met all the required standards for patient care.

For information on services provided by the charity and to help fund-raise for it call 01493 690990 or visit www.stelizabethhospice.org.uk