Demelza welcomes Her Royal Highness The Princess of Wales’s message for Children’s Hospice Week

Led across the UK by Together for Short Lives, Children’s Hospice Week is dedicated to children’s hospices and the families who rely on them.

The week aims to increase awareness of the incredible work children’s hospices do day in day out and to improve understanding about children’s palliative care.

In her message, Her Royal Highness reflects on children’s hospices as places of joy and connection and highlights the difference they make for children and families: 

She said: “Every childhood deserves to be rich in joy, love and shared memories. As Patron of East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices and Tŷ Hafan Children’s Hospice, I have been privileged to see first-hand how children’s hospices make this possible for babies, children and young people living with serious illness. 

“Children’s hospices are joyful and nurturing environments where children can simply be children; to play, explore, express themselves and connect with others. 

“For families, hospices offer a compassionate and restorative space to breathe, be together, and find strength in a community that understands their journey. This expert, holistic care is delivered by dedicated professionals who walk alongside families at every stage, often over many years, throughout a young person’s life and, when needed, into death and bereavement. 

“Children’s hospices are places that protect connection; between children and their families, between families and their communities, between hospice staff and the people they support and within each child’s own sense of self. 

“When we shine a light on the remarkable, yet often unseen, work the hospices do to help children and their families live as fully as possible, we can break down one of the greatest barriers families often face: the fear that reaching out means giving up hope, or that care only begins at the very end. 

“Even in the most challenging circumstances, when children are surrounded by attuned care, opportunities for expression, and environments that nurture their whole selves, they can experience joy, belonging and the freedom to be who they are. 

“These extraordinary places remind us that even in the face of serious illness, childhood remains a time of creativity, connection and possibility. 

“This Children’s Hospice Week, I hope you will join me in celebrating the countless ways children’s hospices make every moment count for the children and families they support and in recognising the profound, life-changing impact of the culture of care they are working to create.” 

Her Royal Highness is Royal Patron of two children’s hospices, East Anglia Children’s Hospices (EACH) and Tŷ Hafan Children’s Hospice in South Wales. 

Demelza provides expert clinical care, emotional support and practical help to children with serious or life-limiting conditions, and their families, across Kent, South East London and East Sussex.

CEO of Together for Short Lives, Nick Carroll, said: “We are incredibly grateful to Her Royal Highness The Princess of Wales for her continued support of Children’s Hospice Week and the work of children’s hospices across the UK. 

“Children’s Hospice Week is the one week of the year given over to children’s hospices and the families who rely on them. Across the UK, children’s hospices help families live as fully as possible together, with expert care and support at every stage. 

“As The Princess reflects, that support is there from the moment a family needs it, as they navigate their child's life, death, bereavement and beyond. Helping more people understand this means more families feel able to reach out for care. 

“This care matters more than ever. Together with children’s hospices across the UK, we thank The Princess for helping families to make every moment count.”