Demelza Hospice Care for Children is a charity in the south east of the UK, providing vital care to hundreds of families across East Sussex, Kent and South East London.
They’re all about life – helping those who may not live a long life to live a full life.
They’re here to provide compassionate and expert care for seriously ill babies, children, young people and their families - when they need it the most.
They’re here to create precious moments and happy memories. In the family home or in the family hospices, Demelza Kent and Demelza SEL.
And if time is tragically cut short, they’re still here. To help ease the family’s fear and anxiety and move forward from their loss.
As a charity, not part of the NHS, Demelza is reliant on fundraising, donations and gifts in Wills to raise over £10.5million needed every year to provide care to seriously ill children and their family.
Demelza Hospices – Their children’s hospices, Demelza Kent in Sittingbourne and Demelza SEL in Eltham, South East London, provide professional, specialist, one-to-one care and support and access to life-enhancing facilities, such as a hydrotherapy pool in Kent, and therapies for children and young people up to the age of 19.
As a young person reaches adulthood, they’re here with advice and links to adult care providers for life after Demelza.
The organisation carries the name of Demelza Phillips, daughter of Derek and Jennifer Phillips, who died tragically from a brain tumour at the age of 24.
Demelza had worked at Acorns Children’s Hospice in Birmingham and was inspired by their work. This inspiration was passed on to her parents who had the vision to establish a children’s hospice in the South-East of England.
Working with a small group of founding supporters, in 1994 Derek and Jennifer set up a charity that campaigned tirelessly across the areas where they are now so well established. This attracted tens, then hundreds, and then thousands of supporters.
Finally, in 1998 the Patron the Countess of Burma opened the hospice in Sittingbourne, Kent. The building was designed by Derek himself as an architect and is a remarkable bringing together of beauty, serenity, and practicality.
Sadly, Jennifer Phillips died unexpectedly in August 2001 aged 61. She is remembered in the Garden of Tranquillity, along with many of the children and young people who have used the hospice.
Demelza entered its next phase of development in 2004. They merged with James House, a charity established in East Sussex by Robin and Mary Gooch following the death of their 11-year-old son James. This enabled us to provide therapies, respite and end-of-life care in the comfort and security of a child’s own home.
And to put the final piece of the founding vision into place, in 2009 Demelza was able to build and open a hospice in Eltham, to serve the boroughs of Bexley, Bromley, Croydon, Greenwich, Lambeth, Lewisham and Southwark. The South-East London hospice is an oasis of peace, fun, opportunity and rest for young Londoners and their families in need of our help and support.
