A health fund has helped kick-start a campaign by a hospice to raise £900,000 this year.

Bradford's Sovereign Health Care has given £15,000 to the Sue Ryder palliative care home at Oxenhope.

The hospice needs to raise almost £1 million of its £1.6 million running costs for 2004-05.

Some of the Sovereign cash could go towards buying the care home's first portable defibrillator -- an emergency device to help heart attack victims.

Hospice manager Sue Hesse (pictured) said: "Gifts like this are really important to us, because although the care we provide will cost around £1.6million in 2004, we never charge patients a penny."

The money would go towards the fundraising initiative and they were considering putting some of it towards the defibrillator, she added.

Fundraising manager Janine Walderman said the donation was significant because this year they were trying to encourage more businesses to donate cash.

"Sovereign are leading the way and saying 'come on let's help Manorlands'," she said.

The handout is part of £140,000 which is being donated by the Manningham-based health care organisation to 21 health related charities in the area.

Keighley-based solicitor Mike Bawer, chairman of Sovereign's charities sub-committee, said: "We have a 'standing list' of local charities to which we pledge to give a donation year-on-year.

"This list has grown over the years and now includes 21 local charities that annually receive a donation from our charities fund.

"Because we are the preferred health care provider to more than 110,000 contributing members - including 2,000 companies, leading trade unions and NHS Trusts - our focus is always on health-related charities.

"We are, of course, delighted to be able to increase our grant to Manorlands by £3,000 to £15,000 in 2004."

Sovereign Health Care has donated more than £1.5m over the last four years to help build community projects, buy medical and specialist equipment and pay for medical research and development.

In addition to its 16-bed in-patient unit, Manorlands also has a day therapy unit offering complementary therapies such as art classes, reflexology and head massages, and is currently looking to open a second day care centre in Craven .