Helen & Douglas House

Caring for local children and their families

In order to protect our staff and the children we care for, we have had to make the difficult decision to cancel all pre-booked respite care until further notice. We know children and families look forward to their respite stays and we are sorry we have to pause them temporarily. Our priority at the moment is to continue to operate our service at the hospice and in the community for those children who require complex symptom management and care at the end of their life. We are uniquely placed to offer this and therefore it must remain our core aim.

Whilst we are not able to offer any pre-booked, planned respite breaks we are able to give children and their families the following care;

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 medical team.
Admission for complex symptom management.
Emergency end of life care.
Supportive Stays offered in an equitable way when available, to give families a break, review patient’s care and to have fun’
Short notice acute bereavement care (including use of the Little Room)
Family support team telephone contact.
Medically supported outreach nursing visits for symptom management.
Longer-term bereavement support.

Families who come to the hospice for symptom management and end of life care will be verbally screened on arrival and asked to adopt the Government’s social distancing and hygiene guidelines during their stay.

Who can be referred to Helen & Douglas House?

The babies and children referred to Helen & Douglas House will have a condition or a disability that is deemed to be life-limiting or life-shortening. We are not able to offer long term care to babies and children.

Who can make a referral to Helen & Douglas House?

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. The family is always approached before the referral is processed. You can download and fill in a referral form below.

Referral Form

Reviews

All support offered by Helen & Douglas House is reviewed annually, so we can continue to offer the most appropriate care and ensure our resources are used fairly and in line with the needs of all the patients and families using our service.