Palliative Care

Palliative, or "end of life", care is the phase of treatment where cure is no longer possible, and is designed to manage symptoms and quality of life. Our hospitals across the South West all offer support, with additional support from the Bristol Royal Hospital for Children Palliative Care Team. Assistance and support from all staff will continue into bereavement support. 

Children's Hospice South West provides hospice care for children and young people with life-limiting conditions and their whole family. Respite and short breaks, emergency care, palliative care and end of life care are provided at their three children's hospices; Little Bridge House in Devon, Charlton Farm in Somerset and Little Harbour in Cornwall.

Dorothy House provide compassionate hospice care and support for people with a life-limiting illness across Bath & North East Somerset (BaNES), and parts of Wiltshire and Somerset. 

Jessie May specialist nurses provide at home nursing and respite care for children and young people that have a terminal or life-limiting condition throughout the South West. They have been providing free specialist at home support since 1996.

Support for child funeral costs

The Children’s Funeral Fund is available in England which covers burial and cremation fees and some associated costs. 

Helpful Links

My child cannot be cured (CCLG)

Palliative care (CCLG)

Facing the death of your child and bereavement (CCLG)

When a child or young person dies (Young Lives vs Cancer) 

End of Life and Bereavement (Young Lives vs Cancer)

Child funeral costs (gov.uk)

Coping with Grief (Cancer Research UK)

Grief and practical tasks when someone dies (Marie Curie)

Child Bereavement UK - helps families to rebuild their lives when a child grieves or when a child dies.They offer free, confidential, digital bereavement support by telephone, video or instant messenger, to families wherever they are in the UK.

Winston’s Wish - a charity offering free, accessible online grief support to children and young people (aged 25 or under) across the UK who are bereaved or facing the death of someone important.

WAY (Widowed and Young) - provides peer-to-peer emotional and practical support to young widowed people – married or not, with or without children, whatever their sexual orientation – as they adjust to life after the death of their partner.

Muslim Bereavement Support Service - a non-profit organisation serving the Muslim community by supporting bereaved women who have lost a loved one.

Cruse Bereavement Support - providing expert bereavement and grief support.

Sibling Support - helping young people whose brother or sister has died. 

The Compassionate Friends - a charitable organisation of bereaved parents, siblings and grandparents dedicated to the support and care of other similarly bereaved family members who have suffered the death of a child or children.

Together for Short Lives - Children’s Palliative Care charity with a family support team and helpline providing families of seriously ill children with emotional, financial and practical support and advice. 

Barretstown offers free, specially designed camps and programmes for children and their families affected by cancer and other serious illness  Their Bereavement Family Camp offers the whole family a supportive environment within which they can spend quality time together, find support, share their experience of loss and find ways to look to the journey ahead.