Name:  

Organisation: Chestnut Tree House

Award Category: Outstanding Team Care

Sponsored By:

 

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About Us

At Chestnut Tree House, we care for around 300 children and young people with life-shortening conditions across Sussex and South East Hampshire, all of whom are unlikely to reach adulthood.

There are so many ways children can have new experiences and enjoy themselves with our services – both at our hospice near Arundel, and during visits from our Community Nursing Team at home. It is a place where parents can just be parents, and not carers, and where siblings have people to talk to who understand.

Then, when the time comes, we help families say goodbye, in whatever way feels right for them, either at home or in the hospice itself. We offer ongoing bereavement support for the whole family.

It costs over £4 million every year to provide these specialist care services and less than 6% of that comes from central Government. All care is offered to families free of charge, so we rely heavily on the generosity of the local community.

Neonatal Care Services

Amongst the many hospice care services that we offer, we also provide Neonatal Care and Support services to the entire family. Premature infants and other neonates are sometimes born with life-limiting conditions. Caring for a sick baby can awaken all kinds of practical, physical and emotional issues that not only affect the baby, but their parents and their family too.
We aim to help local families manage these challenges, by providing care for the whole family by providing 24/7 services, short breaks, end of life care and bereavement support.

We are a helping hand when a family hears the devastating news of their child’s diagnosis. As well as offering care and support, we help families create and treasure precious moments and create a lifetime of memories.

We have been nominated for this award by Chantelle as a thank you for the care and support that we provided for her family and her son, Theo.

Chantelle’s Story

Theo was Chantelle and her husband, Lewis’ first child and everything was fine until the day before he was born. There was a problem with the umbilical cord, which meant Theo was starved of oxygen. Chantelle was rushed in for a caesarean, but it was too late. The doctors told her that his brain had been severely damaged, that he wouldn’t survive.

Theo was in the hospital, but not responding to outside stimulation, only breathing with the help of a machine. After two weeks Chantelle and Lewis decided to withdraw Theo’s breathing tube and let him slip away. But, incredibly, Theo began breathing on his own.

The family couldn’t take Theo home – so they were stuck in hospital, in Theo’s little room, for hours at a time.

That is when Chantelle and Lewis found out about Chestnut Tree House. Chantelle had heard of the hospice before but was amazed when she first visited at the huge house tucked away in the trees.

Chantelle says, “It felt like a home. There were no sterilised corridors, no tubes, no machines beeping. We were greeted by a lovely nurse with a smile and shown to what would become Theo’s room – the ‘Hedgehog’ room.”

“Chestnut became our home. The nurses showed us how to care for Theo – but they were always there if we needed them. We took Theo on family days out and two Chestnut nurses always came with us to make sure he was okay – and to be there in case he stopped breathing.”

“We spent hours in the multi-sensory room, made little pictures and took Theo’s footprints – all treasured things we still have at home now. These are memories we all have now that simply wouldn’t have happened without Chestnut’s care.”

After four weeks and two days, Theo took his last breath. We helped the family organise the funeral and Theo stayed for a few more days in his bedroom. Our nurses brought in a cold bed, so Theo didn’t have to move rooms and his family could spend a few more nights with him.

“Losing Theo was the worst experience imaginable,” Chantelle says, “But I can say, with absolute certainty, that in his short life Chestnut Tree House gave him the fullest, richest life he could have possibly had. And the memories we have of our time there with him are ones I will treasure always”.

Thank you.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank Chantelle for this nomination. Your support helps us raise awareness for the work that we do, care for other children like Theo – and provide a lifetime of memories for local families.

Additional Information

To find out more about the services that we offer, please visit www.chestnut-tree-house.org.uk

We have also selected a few videos that we would like to submit alongside our award:

Chestnut Tree House: A Virtual Tour

For the Now

What Others Have Said

Mary and the team of nurses looked after our son and the whole family at the most awful time. But they made the time we had special. They had activities to take part in which could be done in the main house or in the room Theo was staying in. Mary and all the other nurses are true angels. They allowed us to be a family in place we could call home. We didn’t have to worry about anything. We still use there services now after Theo. Without them we wouldn’t have all those nice memories to look back on and show family and friends. But this is just a small clip of the amazing work I could go on!!! They deserve this award as I think they need to know what they do truly amazing but also the love and care they have is just beautiful.