Referral information

A family that is referred to us can expect to receive the aspects of our care that is right for them. This includes:

• 24/7 telephone support- our care team are here to discuss any of your concerns about your child’s health (for all Coronavirus (COVID-19) queries please go to NHS 111).
• Access to telephone advice from the clinical team.
• Admission for complex symptom management.
• Compassionate End of Life care
• Supportive stays offered in an equitable way when available, to give families a break.
• Care and support at the time of a child’s death.
• Family support and bereavement team.
• Specialist paediatric palliative care.
• Outreach nursing visits to support you at home.
• Sibling support
• Youth and transition support

Children and young people 0-18 referred to Helen & Douglas House will have a condition that is deemed to be life-limiting or life-shortening where they’re not expected to live past 25.

Referrals to Helen & Douglas House can be made directly from families or their relatives, from consultants, general practitioners, hospital and community nurses, other health and social care professionals, schools, workers in the voluntary sector, and any other source.

Referrers should always get consent from families before referring them to us. We will always contact the family before a referral is processed.

Fill in the referral form

All support offered by Helen & Douglas House is reviewed annually, so we can continue to offer families the best care. 

If a child exceeds our expectations and their health improves over time, we may signpost them to other services more suitable to their needs.

Feedback from families we currently care for:

• ‘Helen House is amazing and we wouldn’t cope without the support they give.’
• ‘Always accommodating to our needs. Polite and professional and empathetic.’
• ‘We have been supported by Helen House for over 15 years. They have enriched our lives, helped us understand our son’s condition, and understand that life can still be good. They have been there for us in the good and the bad times. The staff are fantastic, so understanding and supportive of our child and our family. We always felt cocooned in safety when we stayed, like everything was all right. When we did have concerns, these were addressed quickly and effectively.’

Feedback from families who have a bereaved child:

• ‘Following the sudden death of our daughter we didn’t know where to start or where to turn, Helen & Douglas really helped us through this time from supported with registering her death to funeral support and giving us time to come to terms with her death, spending every minute with her after her death and being supported by staying g in the family apartment.’
• ‘Helen & Douglas House was a safe haven for us when our son was dying. It allowed us to be parents again and it was so good to be out of the stressful hospital environment.’
• ‘Helen House for us was from home to home.’

Watch our video to take a look inside the hospice and learn more about how we care for and support children and their families.