TWO Dorset hospices are joining forces in a bid to ensure terminally ill teenagers get the support they need.

Julia's House - the only children's hospice in the county - forged the partnership with Poole's Lewis-Manning Hospice after concerns were raised that young adults were prone to fall through gaps in the care system.

Young people with life threatening or life limiting illnesses can only stay at the children's hospice in Corfe Mullen until they are 19-years-old.

Under the new scheme, 18-year-old residents will be accompanied by carers to Lewis-Manning's day hospice for the last year of their stay at Julia's House.

Health experts say this should make any transition from child to adult hospice easier and ensure the teenagers and their families continuing receiving the care they need.

Julia's House chief executive Martin Edwards said: "We were delighted when Lewis-Manning responded favourably to our suggestion of working together.

"It is vital that children aren't the only ones to benefit from Julia's House's expertise and that we work with other organisations to help young adults who are often forgotten as a group in need."

Lewis-Manning head Elizabeth Purcell added: "The hopeful message is that young people are living longer with life-limiting illnesses. However the reality is that there is a gap in the support available to them and their families when they reach young adulthood.

"The wonderful environment at Lewis-Manning Hospice is just the place, we believe, to offer tailor made packages of care to enable young people to get the most out of this time in their lives."

Last week the Echo reported how staff at Julia's House were calling for a government overhaul of an unjust funding system.

Last year the children's hospice received just five per cent of its annual £1.5 million costs, compared with an average of 34 per cent for adult hospices.