Chestnut Tree House

Anna Jones Director of children services The best possible care

Since Chestnut Tree House opened in 2003, children with certain conditions are living longer than ever expected, with increasingly complex needs.

We need to ensure that children and young people continue to get the best possible care and support, in an environment which can meet the high level of clinical complexity alongside supporting the social needs of young people. One of the young people we care for has just written a blog for our website. Nic is 23 and he has been attending Chestnut Tree House for 19 years. He reckons he probably knows the place better than anyone. He’s certainly a bit of a celebrity at the House and loves to banter with the staff – usually about football! When he’s not watching football, talking about football, or singing football songs, you can often find Nic in the computer room. If it’s nice weather he’ll be playing football, kwik cricket or rounders in the garden – although he must be careful because of his osteoporosis, which means the bones in his legs are weak and fragile. Nic is also part of the Chestnut Social group for teenagers and young adults. They’ve been to a board games lounge and one evening they went to a bar in Brighton for a night out. His absolute favourite was a comedy evening. Extending our outreach with activities and therapeutic services to young people like Nic, who we have supported for many years, is an important part of what we do. Over £4 million is needed every year to provide hospice care for local children and their families. Only a small proportion of this comes from central government. The rest – around £10,000 per day – comes from donations and fundraising. Read Nic’s blog at www.chestnut.org.uk/blog