Children In Need

The Donna Louise Trust provides respite and end of life care to 150 families in Staffordshire and South Cheshire. 

Helping families

The children come for short stays of a few days to a week or possibly more. For end of life care, they can stay for months sometimes to receive the care and support they need. 

The hospice also has a garden room where children who've died at the hospice can stay until the family is able to make arrangements for them. 

Vikki Nancarow, a youth worker at Treetops says for some families, the death of a child is the first death in the family they've encountered, and as well as coping with the shock and grief, many don't know how to go about registering the death or making funeral arrangements. 

A place to enjoy

There are eight beds for children, but the Trust is only able to open five because of a shortage of funds. It's a problem common to all of the hospices in the region. Most rely on public donations to stay open.

Unlike some hospices for children, Treetops in Trentham, Stoke on Trent, is able to offer medical facilities for children, so in some circumstances where otherwise a child would have to be moved to a hospital, they can stay at Treetops for their care.

The Treetops Hospice is a bright and welcoming place. Blaine Siddall, who has respite care at Treetops loves his time there. 

He says, "I've got a reason for every room… comparing my house to this, there's just so many things Treetops have got. They've got pool tables, they've got libraries, they've got a music room, they've got everything. They've got a teenage room, they've got good bedrooms with beds that go up and down… .I'll be getting one of them at my house soon."

Ray Thompson and Luke Richards both have Duchennes Muscular Dystrophy. It's a degenerative condition which affects all of the muscles in the body. They come to Treetops for respite care.

Luke says, "You get a bit bored at home and you come here to relax and take all your cares away. My mum looks after me 24/7. Here there are different people who can help me with lots of things so mum doesn't have to."

How your fundraising is helping

This year, Children in Need is paying the salary of a youth worker to liaise with families, and help the children while they're staying at the hospice. 

Of the children who come for respite care Vikki says "It's nice for them to come here and just be themselves. They're more independent. They have a lot of choice here. They choose what they want to do. At home sometimes it’s not possible. You've got other family members, strict routines, you've got school.. Here, they're able to be individuals and do whatever they want.”