Making Contact
"We will always try to help in any way we can"
Making contact
We are happy to be contacted by parents, GP’s, hospital staff and social or other community workers and health care professionals who deal with a child would benefit from the care offered by Derian House.
We would request, however, that parents or other primary carers are contacted first, the options discussed, and their wishes respected , before the initial contact is made by healthcare or other professionals. Once contact has been established we will write to you, your GP, hospital consultant, and any other key workers for further information. If, based on that information, we can offer our service to you, we will initially visit you at home, before inviting you to visit us and spend a short time at the hospice.
hello susie
Yours first visit is very important as it allows us to get to know both you and your child. The Care Team use this visit to learn from you how best to care for your child in an extension of the way in which they are cared for at home. In this way, a caring partnership is built up between you and us. Subsequent visits to the hospice can then be arranged based upon your needs and, most importantly, those of your child. Some families visit frequently, others for only a few days, once a year. We will try to help in any way we can, although there may be times, such as school holidays, when it won’t always be possible to meet you requirements. However, we will do our best to accommodate you.
Sadly, a number of children who visit us will do so at the end of their lives, and we will do our utmost to offer care, advice and support at this very sad time. Working in close communication with a local GP who is designated as medical practitioner to the hospice, and in conjunction with your child’s community care workers we will maintain your child’s comfort by relieving any distressing symptoms. For some families, no matter how hard the physical and emotional strain involved it is their wish that their child should spend their last days at home, and it is with this in mind that we have devised our Hospice at Home care facility. Here, we send experienced Care Team staff into the home to once again promote a partnership of care and support, and maintain the integrity of the family during this time of extreme emotional pain. We will be there when you need us for as long as you need us. Our care continues with bereavement support for the family for as long as it is needed.
We’re here for you and your child. Derian House offers children a home from home, the best possible medical care, and as much fun and laughter as they can pack into their shortened lives. We’re here too for children who suffer from a wide range of illnesses which mean they may not be dying in the immediate sense, but will suffer a gradual deterioration in their condition.
Despite this, Derian House isn’t a place of sadness and despair. Indeed there is a sense of purpose in the undaunted spirit of the children who allow us into their lives, even if only for a short time. Anyone who visits the hospice will find a unique atmosphere which owes its being to children, parents and staff alike.
If you would like more information about Derian House, or would like to speak to a member of the Care Team, or to arrange a visit, please telephone 01257 233300
