Our bespoke support is free of charge to families and available 365 days a year. Our care service includes short breaks at our two hospices (Shooting Star House in Hampton and Christopher’s in Guildford), Hospice at Home, day care, symptom management, end-of-life care, bereavement care and a comprehensive range of therapies and support groups for the whole family.
It costs £10 million a year just to maintain our current level of care. Less than 10% of that income comes from government funding, so we rely on our supporters’ generosity to keep the service running. What’s more, we know there are many more families desperate for our vital support, so it’s crucial we raise more funds to provide more care.
Caring for a life-limited child or young person is emotionally and physically exhausting. That’s why we provide almost 3,000 short-break nights every year. While their child is being cared for by our qualified nurses, parents can get some much-needed rest. Parents caring for a life-limited child tell us they rarely get the chance to do everyday things. That’s why our Hospice at Home team makes 250 family visits every month (around 9,000 hours a year), enabling parents to spend time with their other children, do the shopping, see friends, or simply have a bath. Siblings often feel alone and isolated and some experience bullying because their family is seen as different. That’s why we support 1,000 brothers and sisters with dedicated sibling groups. These groups contain fun activities and opportunities to explore and share their feelings in a safe environment. The number of families we care for has risen by 36% since the charities merged in 2011. What’s more, we know there are many more families desperate for our vital support. That’s why we need to raise more than the £10 million it costs to maintain our current level of care.
We expect all our people to display behaviours related to our PRIDE values. We want to attract, retain and develop people with the right skill set who will deliver our strategy and share our values. We want all of our people, staff and volunteers, to feel valued for the work they do.
Daily life for families who have a child with a life-limiting condition is unpredictable. That’s why our care service is available 365 days a year and we are flexible to support families in a crisis. Families tell us that spending a lot of time in hospital has a negative impact on the whole family. That’s why our hospices are not like hospitals. They are bright, welcoming and relaxing, providing a home-from-home environment. Most bereaved parents say they will, at some point, have suicidal thoughts. That’s why we provide bereavement groups and counselling to support families through their grieving. Many children we support have very complex and changing symptoms, particularly at end of life. That’s why we have a dedicated Symptom Care Team providing expert advice across our hospices and care plans to support the child at our hospices, in hospital, at home or at school. For children who require symptom management our team coordinates all the healthcare services involved in the child’s care, taking the lead while ensuring families’ wishes are at the centre of decisions. If a child’s symptoms change suddenly, it can be an uncertain time for families as they decide whether to take their child to hospital. That’s why our team are part of the PATCH service (Paediatric Patient Advice by Telephone for Care at home, Hospice and Hospital) which gives families and professionals telephone access to specialist palliative care service 24 hours a day.We strive to be a centre of excellence in children’s palliative care to ensure we provide the best possible care to families we support and show best practice to other providers. That’s why we have a comprehensive training programme for our staff, delivering more than 9 hours of training every year.
Medical advancements and improved care has resulted in many young people with life-limiting conditions surviving into adulthood. That’s why we have a transition coordinator to help facilitate the move into adult services.
When a child dies at hospital or at home, families are unable to have time to say goodbye. That’s why we have peaceful bereavement suites at each of our hospices where children can stay until their funeral. A family has exclusive use of these areas to help them with their grieving.
