Julia's House

The hospice has a Jurassic Coast theme to introduce an element of interest and fun, which begins outside in the garden and continues indoors.

Much of the carpet represents sand and there are pebbles and fossils throughout the building. Wherever you see a cupboard door, the handle will be a sea shell and the colours and textures throughout the building reflect the calming, yet fun nature of the interior.

The front garden has sea grasses, fossils and a mermaid. The yellow brick road with sponsors' messages engraved in bricks, winds its way through to the reflective garden at the top, which is shaped as an amonite.

The Jurassic Coast theme runs through the back garden too, with more fossils, sea grasses and sand.

The garden contains a sensory walkway, a memorial area and plenty of space for playing in. There are also some pieces of adapted play equipment, such as the bird's nest swing, so named because of its shape, in which children of all abilities can enjoy themselves.

Welcome inside Julia's House! Julia's House is designed to be a warm welcoming and homely environment and not a bit clinical. The fossils, sand and seashore theme continues throughout the building.

Just like any lounge used by children, the lounge at Julia's House becomes filled with toys, as well as being somewhere quiet to relax for children and adults alike.

All kinds of meals are served in the dining room. Many of the children are fed through gastrostomy tubes and bringprepared food with them, others are well enough to eat normally. Brothers, sisters and parents are sometimes able to make use of the facilities here too.

The conservatory is a quiet area where parents can sometimes be found having a chat with other parents or where children can go when they want to get away from the noise of the playroom. The stones on the floor make for an interesting texture, which some children enjoy going over in their wheelchairs.

Some would say this is the most important room in the hospice. The playroom has fossil shapes set into the floor with tiles interspersed which appear to "splat" outwards when you tread on them.

Members of the Julia's House activity team work hard to develop games and activities that will really stimulate the children's senses. One valuable tool is the sensory room, which is full of interactive lights, textures and sounds.

Medical equipment is kept to a minimum in the bedrooms. Much of it is portable and kept in cupboards until it is needed, so that the rooms are not too clinical.

The comfortable and homely atmosphere continues through all of the bedrooms, as does the seaside theme. The bedrooms have names such as Dolphin and Mermaid, rather than numbers.