Update about children’s services
Following an in-depth service review of our role in the provision of Hospice at Home care to local children with life-limiting illnesses, we have made the difficult decision to withdraw from providing a Children’s Service from March 2025.
This is largely due to the review identifying the duplication of our services with other providers in the local area, complex governance requirements due to multiple providers and presenting an opportunity to create clearer patient pathways for children and their families, with fewer providers involved.
The review – that was presented by the Clinical Leadership Team to the Rennie Grove Peace Hospice Care board of trustees – concluded that the best way to meet the local demand of children who are living with a life-limiting illness is via their existing ‘host’ hospice care providers which already offer a comprehensive range of specialist services to meet the needs of children and their families.
As all children on our current caseload are already registered with their ‘host’ hospice or NHS trust, which oversees their care, there will be no gap in service.
We will continue to provide emotional and bereavement support to the children of our adult patients, but we will no longer provide nursing, respite or play services to children who are themselves living with a life-limiting illness.
It has been an absolute privilege to support young patients and their families over such a long time, and we are sad not to be continuing this work for now. We would like to express our grateful thanks to all the staff who have delivered this service over the years, and their ongoing professionalism during this time.
We would also like to thank the Pepper Foundation which has supported us so generously over the last 30 years. Originally working with the Iain Rennie Hospice at Home team in 1989, it has raised over £6 million in total through fundraising and grants awarded towards children’s services.
We wish the Pepper Foundation all the best as it continues to support this important work, locally, via our children’s hospice care partners.
We are confident that this decision is in the best interest of the young people and families that need this support in our area and hope to be involved in their later palliative care needs when transitioning into our services as young adults.