A children’s charity in Wraxall has been praised as ‘extraordinary’ by members of the royal family.
Children’s Hospice South West (CHSW) was invited to join a video call made by The Duchess of Cornwall and The Duchess of Cambridge to mark Children’s Hospice Week.
As patron of CHSW, Camilla, The Duchess of Cornwall invited hospice founder Eddie Farwell to take part in the call, along with Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge.
During the call, the duchesses discussed the comprehensive care that hospice staff provide, and the way that children’s hospices are able to create positive environments and happy memories during the most difficult of times.
More: Children’s hospice launches campaign to raise vital funds for families.
They thanked all those involved in and supporting children’s hospices across the UK during this critical time.
After having experienced first-hand the incredible support given by a children’s hospice, Eddie Farwell founded CHSW along with his late wife Jill in 1991.
CHSW now offers care at three children’s hospice across the South West; Little Bridge House in Barnstaple, Charlton Farm in Wraxall and Little Harbour in St Austell.
On the call Eddie Farwell explained how the hospice has been working to support families during such a difficult time.
He said: “We’ve had to be very agile to respond to the changing needs of families. Most of our families are shielding very vulnerable young people. We’re working in the community, which is something we haven’t done before, it has been very welcome and enormously successful, and it won’t surprise you to know we have been working virtually as well.”
Commending the work of hospice during the pandemic, The Duchess of Cornwall said: “We’d like to thank everybody that works for hospices across the UK for the incredible job you do and allowing families to treasure their moments together.”
Speaking about the nurses and carers that look after children in hospices, The Duchess described them as ‘the most wonderful people’ that ‘inspire happiness’.
The Duchess of Cambridge called the work of children’s hospices ‘extraordinary’, adding: “It’s a credit to the staff that they can provide the environment, the nurturing space for those families to help them go through long or short term care. It’s really awe-inspiring”.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here