Devon contract for sleep service

A CORNISH specialist sleep service has been awarded a contract with the NHS to aid children and young people across Devon experiencing serious sleep difficulties.

Hunrosa Sleep Service, based in Liskeard, has already provided a sleep service for community paediatric team patients in Cornwall since 2018 and has been successfully cracking the toughest insomnia cases in children where patients not only experience sleeplessness but also disability, mental health problems and trauma.

The impact of a lack of sleep is wide-reaching, and research indicates that up to 60% of British school children are sleepdeprived. Sleep deprivation also comprises immunity. After just five days of short sleep, immunity levels reduce by 50% and can make health conditions worse and even mimic certain disabilities.

Jan Jenner, director of Hunrosa Sleep Service, said: “Our sleep service has proven to be a real success in Cornwall, and we are very pleased that the NHS in Devon have contracted us to do the same across the county.

“We will be providing specialist sleep support for children and young people in Devon that are suffering from serious sleep disturbance. These patients often have other health conditions to contend with which can make their sleep problems worse.”

Sleep specialists from Hunrosa, which means ‘to dream’ in Cornish, will work with Devon’s child and adolescent mental health team, including in the Plymouth, Torbay and Exeter areas, with referrals initiated by a young person’s existing health professional.