A hospice has unveiled a new look to encourage more people to use its services.

St Elizabeth Hospice, which celebrated 25 years last year, has cared for and supported more than 20,000 people with progressive illnesses, and is now is looking to the future to ensure it can continue for the next 25 years.

Mark Millar, acting chief executive, said: “Developing the new look and feel has given us the opportunity to make our messages much clearer so we can dispel some of the myths about hospice care and raise awareness of how we can help people.

“Hospices can be a daunting prospect so we wanted to create materials that look warmer and more approachable. We want people to know they can come to us early in their illness and we can help them remain independent for longer.”

The new brand plays on the word ‘be’ in ‘Elizabeth’ and encourages people to ‘be involved’, ‘be inspiring’ or ‘be yourself’. Staff hope the new identity will show the hospice is not a sombre place, but helps people to improve people’s quality of life.