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A charity helping those with terminal illnesses granted a Plymouth patient their wish to swim in the Great Barrier Reef through virtual reality.

Matthew Hill, who was recently admitted to the St Luke's Hospice specialist unit in Turnchapel after previously being cared for at his home, had told nurses that it was always his dream to dive into the reef and swim amongst the coral and fish.

Those who were caring for the 37-year-old who has bowel cancer, passed on the message about his wishes which was when St Luke's kicked into action to see what they could do to make it a reality.

The hospice put in some phonecalls and contacted TruVision, a Plymouth based virtual reality company who work with the construction industry, to see if they could re-create the reef scene and bring it to Matthew.

Eager to get on board, the company agreed and were happy to offer their equipment and access the software to make the experience of a lifetime possible for Matthew.

Head of the specialist unit at St Luke's, Nicola Pereira said: "Matthew has really captured the hearts of us all at St Luke's and it was a pleasure to make his dream become a reality.

"Matthew was admitted to our specialist unit at Turnchapel last week for pain relief with bowel cancer.

"What is remarkable is that he also has spinal compression which means he is unable to sit upright in bed, so the technology has really made something which some people would have thought impossible, actually possible.

"Matthew will be returning home later this week with a smile on his face and will continue to receive specialist care from our home nurses".

The headset and technology allowed Matthew to be immersed in the virtual water of the Great Barrier Reef where he could swim and look around at moving fish, whales and coral.

A St Luke's spokesperson has said how the hospice, who help people with terminal illnesses, may look at putting together a grant to get funding for a virtual reality headset which could help to fulfil some of the bucket list items many of their staff so often hear about from their patients.

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St Luke's patient gets dreams fulfilled with virtual reality Great Barrier Reef swim - Plymouth Herald