An east London children’s hospice has been commissioned to provide care for families across three new areas after another hospice closed down.
Haven House Children’s Hospice, based in Woodford Green, will take on care for families from Newham, Tower Hamlets, and City & Hackney following the closure of Richard House Children’s Hospice.
Haven House has been providing end of life support across the NEL in all 7 boroughs since September at the request of the Richard House management and the ICB.
Richard House Children's Hospice in Newham closed in December after going into administration. Its management and board asked Haven House to support them taking on their caseload of children and families.
The decision was made by the North East London Integrated Care Board to ensure children and families across North East London continue to have access to specialist children’s hospice care.
Haven House already serves families across Barking and Dagenham, Havering, Redbridge, and Waltham Forest and will now support families in three more boroughs.
Justin Derbyshire, chief executive of Haven House, said: "Haven House has been delivering high-quality children’s hospice care for more than 20 years, and this experience underpins the specialist support we provide.
Read more
Newham children's services receive Ofsted's top rating
Trust responds to call for more public opening at historic mill
"We are honoured to be supporting children and families from communities where there is significant health need. To date, 136 families previously supported by Richard House have chosen to transfer their care to Haven House, and we have already supported children and families through end of life, crisis and respite care.
"We continue to work closely with families individually to understand their needs, and we are focused on ensuring all those who need us can access compassionate, professional care."
Families in the newly commissioned areas will be able to access respite care, emotional and practical family support, dedicated sibling support, and end of life care through Haven House.
Plans are underway to invest in additional staff, facilities, and transport to support the expanded service area.
Charlotte Pomery, chief strategic commissioning officer for NHS North East London, said: "Our priority is to ensure that children and families across North East London continue to have access to high-quality children’s hospice care.
"We are confident that commissioning Haven House Children’s Hospice to provide this care, drawing on their established expertise and commitment to supporting families when they need it most, offers both stability and a positive outcome in a challenging situation."
Share