Hospices
Little Havens Children's Hospice
Daws Heath Road, Thundersley SS7 2LH
Overview
Little Havens Children's Hospice is a specialist care facility located in Thundersley, Essex, dedicated to providing compassionate support to children and young people with life-limiting conditions and their families. The organisation offers a range of services designed to improve quality of life and provide essential respite care for families during challenging times. The hospice provides palliative and end-of-life care, along with emotional and practical support tailored to each child's individual needs.
The facility serves families across Essex and surrounding areas, offering both inpatient and outpatient services. Little Havens is staffed by trained healthcare professionals including nurses, therapists, and support workers who work closely with families to ensure children receive dignified, comfortable care. The hospice also provides bereavement support to help families cope with loss. As a charity, Little Havens relies on donations and fundraising to maintain its vital services, making it an important resource for some of the most vulnerable families in the region.
Frequently Asked Questions
Little Havens Children's Hospice in Thundersley provides specialist palliative care for people with life-limiting conditions. Services may include inpatient care, day hospice services, hospice at home (care in your own home), outpatient clinics, bereavement support for families, lymphoedema clinic, complementary therapies, and counselling. All care focuses on comfort, quality of life, and dignity. Contact 01702 552200 for information about available services.
Yes, all hospice care at Little Havens Children's Hospice is provided free of charge to patients and their families, regardless of financial circumstances. Hospices receive some NHS funding but rely heavily on charitable donations, fundraising, retail shops, and legacies to fund their services. It costs millions of pounds each year to run a hospice, with a significant proportion raised through community support.
Referrals to Little Havens Children's Hospice are usually made by your GP, hospital consultant, or district nurse. You or your family can also contact Little Havens Children's Hospice directly on 01702 552200 to discuss a referral. Referrals are based on clinical need — anyone with a life-limiting condition can be considered. You do not have to have cancer to be referred; hospices care for people with any advanced illness including heart failure, COPD, motor neurone disease, and dementia.
No, hospice care is not just about end-of-life care. Many patients visit Little Havens Children's Hospice for symptom management (pain relief, breathlessness, nausea), rehabilitation and support to stay as well as possible, respite stays to give carers a break, and day hospice activities and therapies. Some patients attend for weeks or months and then return home. Hospice care aims to help you live as fully and comfortably as possible.
Yes, Little Havens Children's Hospice can help you with advance care planning — documenting your wishes for future care. This may include an Advance Decision to Refuse Treatment (living will), Lasting Power of Attorney for health and welfare, preferred place of care and death, and a ReSPECT form (Recommended Summary Plan for Emergency Care and Treatment). Having these conversations and documents in place ensures your wishes are known and respected.
Little Havens Children's Hospice supports people with any life-limiting condition, not just cancer. Conditions include advanced cancer, heart failure, COPD and other lung diseases, motor neurone disease (MND), multiple sclerosis (MS), Parkinson's disease, advanced dementia, kidney failure, and liver failure. Referral is based on clinical need, and the hospice team works alongside your GP and hospital team.
You can support Little Havens Children's Hospice by making a donation, volunteering your time, shopping at or donating to charity shops, taking part in fundraising events, leaving a gift in your will (legacy giving), organising your own fundraising activity, or becoming a regular donor. Contact 01702 552200 or visit the website to find out more about supporting your local hospice.
The day hospice at Little Havens Children's Hospice provides a programme of care and activities for patients who live at home. You may attend one or two days per week for medical review and symptom management, complementary therapies (massage, aromatherapy, reflexology), creative activities (art, music), social interaction and peer support, physiotherapy and occupational therapy, and psychological support. Transport to and from the day hospice may be arranged.
Yes, Little Havens Children's Hospice welcomes visitors and families. Visiting is usually flexible, with no strict visiting hours in the inpatient unit. Family rooms and overnight facilities may be available for relatives who wish to stay close. Children are welcome to visit. The hospice environment is designed to be calm, comfortable, and homelike. Staff will support families throughout their loved one's stay.
Little Havens Children's Hospice may offer a Hospice at Home service, bringing specialist palliative care to patients in their own homes. This may include visits from specialist nurses, overnight care and sitting services, symptom management, practical support, and emotional support for patients and families. Hospice at Home allows people to be cared for and, if they wish, to die in the comfort and familiarity of their own home.
Little Havens Children's Hospice may offer complementary therapies including massage, aromatherapy, reflexology, Reiki, acupuncture, mindfulness and relaxation, creative arts therapy, and music therapy. These therapies complement medical treatment and can help with pain, anxiety, sleep, and overall wellbeing. All therapies are provided by qualified practitioners and are free to patients.
Yes, Little Havens Children's Hospice provides bereavement support for families and loved ones after a patient has died. This may include one-to-one counselling, bereavement support groups, telephone support, memorial services, and children and young people's bereavement services. Support is available regardless of whether the person died at the hospice or elsewhere. Contact 01702 552200 for information about bereavement services.