At the hospice | Julia's House

Our hospices are often the only place away from home where parents feel confident leaving their child. We provide daytime [and occasional overnight] care in a safe, homely environment. The children who come here enjoy a genuine quality of life.

We don’t want illness to be a barrier to a magical childhood. Activity and play sessions are a wonderful way to enable every child to have an enjoyable experience at the hospice. All children who come to Julia’s House have a chance to make friends and share special times together.

It also means that if the worst happens, the hospice is not an unfamiliar environment for families to spend time in but somewhere happy memories have been made.

What we do

We provide daytime and occasional overnight care in a safe and homely environment. The children who come here enjoy a genuine quality of life, and most importantly, have fun!

Specialist activity and play sessions and even sleepovers are a wonderful way to enable every child to have an enjoyable experience at the hospice. It also means that if the worst happens, the hospice is not an unfamiliar environment for families to spend time in but somewhere happy memories have been made.

Our children's hospice care is planned around the individual child's needs with the emphasis on having fun. All children who come to Julia’s House have a chance to make friends and share happy times together.

Dispelling the myths - a hospice is a ‘scary place’

An invitation to visit Julia’s House – whether as a newly-referred parent or a supporter – can often invoke a panicky, knee-jerk response: no, no thank you, that’s not for us. Many can’t face the ‘reality’ of Julia’s House. It’s going to be about death, isn’t it? It’s going to be like a hospital, a place full of sick children, a place without hope.

That’s a terrifying prospect and, not surprisingly, it can take a lot of gentle persuasion on the part of our nurses to bring parents round. They will gratefully accept our care, just as fundraisers and donors will generously support our service, but for some, a visit to our hospice is just a step too far.

Helping parents and the public overcome that mental hurdle isn’t just important, it’s a game-changer. It’s about connecting with Julia’s House in a tangible, positive way. No sick children in beds, no hint of the sterile or medical.

It’s about fun

Parents of life-limited and life-threatened children are used to hearing about what their child cannot do. At Julia’s House our focus is on what a child CAN do - smiles, laughter and achievements, no matter how small are all celebrated. We want to build up a library of positives.

We are constantly looking to improve what we do for families, what we can offer children. We don’t want illness to be a barrier to a magical childhood.

Who says you can’t make mud pies just because you have a medical condition? Children can have a brilliant time outside getting grubby and still have all their clinical needs taken care of.