Children's Hospice South West (CHSW) is a

registered charity A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, Religion, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good). The legal definitio ...

that provides

palliative Palliative care (from Latin root "to cloak") is an interdisciplinary medical care-giving approach aimed at optimizing quality of life and mitigating or reducing suffering among people with serious, complex, and often terminal illnesses. Man ...

, respite, end of life and bereavement care for life-limited and terminally ill children and their families from the

South West England South West England, or the South West of England, is one of the nine official regions of England, regions of England in the United Kingdom. Additionally, it is one of four regions that altogether make up Southern England. South West England con ...

region. It oversees three of the 41

children's hospice A Children's hospice is a hospice specifically designed to help children and young people who are not expected to reach adulthood with the emotional and physical challenges they face, and also to provide respite care for their families. Services ...

s in the United Kingdom.

History

CHSW was founded by Jill and Eddie Farwell in 1991, after spending many years travelling to Helen & Douglas House in Oxford with their own two life-limited children. Following a feasibility study, they raised funds and Little Bridge House at Fremington near

Barnstaple Barnstaple ( or ) is a river-port town and civil parish in the North Devon district of Devon, England. The town lies at the River Taw's lowest crossing point before the Bristol Channel. From the 14th century, it was licensed to export wool from ...

North Devon North Devon is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district in Devon, England. Its council is based just outside Barnstaple, the district's largest town. The district also includes the towns of Ilfracombe, Lynton and Lynmouth and Sout ...

opened in 1995, and instantly provided support for up to 200 families in the South West with life limited children. The second hospice, Charlton Farm at Wraxall,

North Somerset North Somerset is a unitary authorities of England, unitary authority in the ceremonial county of Somerset, England. The council is based in Weston-super-Mare, the area's largest town. The district also contains the towns of Clevedon, Nailsea ...

near

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

, opened its doors to the first families in April 2007. The third hospice, Little Harbour, opened at Porthpean,

St Austell Saint Austell (, ; ) is a town in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, south of Bodmin and west of the border with Devon. At the 2021 Census in the United Kingdom, census it had a population of 20,900. History St Austell was a village centred ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

in 2011. It offers a more local service to families from Cornwall and Plymouth. Children's Hospice South West's £5million Precious Lives Appeal was set up to fund the building of this third hospice.

Finances

In the year ending March 2020, CHSW's income was £15.8million, which included £2.6M of government contracts and grants. It spent £5.8M on raising funds and £9.3M on running the hospices.

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Children's charities based in England Hospices in England 1991 establishments in England Health in Devon Health in Cornwall Health in Somerset