What is happening?
The Trustees of Richard House children’s hospice in Newham have announced they are closing on 18 December.
We have been working closely with Richard House for several months in the hope of finding ways to secure its future.
Unfortunately, despite funding the hospice to the maximum level we are permitted to, exploring merger options and continuing to work with them on other solutions, its trustees have now notified us that they believe the challenges it faces are simply too great. They as a Board took the difficult decision to close on 18 December and subsequently informed us.
What is happening for the affected children and families?
We are now working to ensure that children and families directly affected by the closure continue to receive the care they need from nearby Haven House Hospice – meeting their needs remains our priority.
No child or family will lose access to essential care. No one will need to re-refer and all children will be transferred safely, with their family’s consent.
Information for families affected by the closure and how to contact Haven House can be found here.
What are the next steps?
This is obviously an incredibly sad and difficult time for all those who have used Richard House services over the years and for Richard House colleagues too. We continue to support them and will work closely with Haven House to finalise plans for the short, medium and long term to ensure ongoing support for children and families.
Under the detailed handover plan agreed with both Richard House and Haven House, all end of life care for children and families will be provided by Haven House Hospice, including on-site support and care at home.
Haven House will also work to provide on-site respite to families who had booked respite care from the date of Richard House’s closure. We are continuing to looking at alternative arrangements to provide hospice at home care while Haven House works to extend this service across north east London.
