Demelza

Hospice Care for Children

and their families

thebestof Canterbury is proud to support Demelza, the only children's residential hospice covering Kent, East Sussex and South London providing a wide range of services to life-limited children. Demelza receives limited funding, the majority of support coming from private donations.

Demelza provide an amazing care service to life-limited children and support their families through the most difficult of times.

Demelza have two centres, one in Sittingbourne, Kent and one in Eltham, South East London as well as a community nursing team based in East Sussex. Due to their proximity thebestof Canterbury is working closely with the Sittingbourne centre to raise the profile of Demelza in Canterbury.

To give a flavour of how Demelza support and care for these very special life-limited children, here is a brief outline;

Demelza Kent is an 8-bedded hospice in Sittingbourne, providing respite, symptom control, end-of-life care and bereavement support.

Over 600 life-limited children and their families benefit from a wide range of facilities across the three services including a multi-sensory room, Soft Play, Jacuzzi, and The Inclusion Zone for young adults.

The care team, led by children's specialist palliative care nurses, make the most of every moment that the child spends at Demelza and parents have the opportunity to get a night of undisturbed sleep safe in the knowledge that their child is in the best hands.

At the end of the child's illness, Demelza offer a comprehensive service of support using a bereavement suite which enables a family to let go and say goodbye at their own pace. Demelza share their expertise in childhood bereavement with organisations such as the police and bereavement charity, CRUSE.

Demelza are very aware that brothers and sisters require a very special type of support. Healthy brothers and sisters can often feel left out in the cold, as attention focuses on the sick child in the family.

Demelza organise support groups for different ages for the siblings of a sick child, so that their differing needs can be catered for. The groups try to meet every three months with the aim of having fun, while sharing feelings and problems with other children in similar circumstances.

Demelza also have other family support groups, for example, a mother's group and a grandparents' group.

So how can you help support this wonderful charity? Well, in a number of ways;

By making a donation, this can be done

• online
• by post
• by calling 01795 845 288
• By using the Demelza Pre Paid Card
• By supporting events organised by Demelza or on Demelza's behalf
• By visiting Demelza's online shop
• By visiting one of Demelza's 13 shops, located throughout Kent and East Sussex. Where are they? Click on shop locations to find out

thebestof Canterbury is proud to support Demelza and is dedicated to raising this amazing charity's profile. Look out for our promotional Mini in and around Canterbury and see if you can spot the Demelza Clown on a heart somewhere on the car!