The support provided by a hospice to those caring for children with life-limiting and life-threatening conditions during the Covid-19 pandemic has been recognised after it was shortlisted for a prestigious national nursing award.

The care team at Haven House Children’s Hospice is in contention for the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) honour in recognition of their innovative and dynamic approach to providing responsive and crisis support, something carers described as a ‘lifeline’.

Eileen White, Director of Care at Haven House, said: “This is so exciting. We feel privileged to have been shortlisted as a finalist in the RCN Nursing Awards recognising our Commitment to Carers. The philosophy of Haven House is to promote the best possible quality of life and care for every child with a life-limiting or life-threatening condition and their family.

“Even prior to the turbulence of the past year, we have understood the challenges that carers face in supporting seriously ill children, whether they be parents, siblings or extended family members. We are here to offer a lifeline to families.”

At the onset of the first and subsequent lockdowns, Haven House immediately worked to identify ways to support its families to navigate together this unprecedented time.

The team at the Woodford Green hospice identified the challenges that families and carers faced when their child was nearing the end of their life and when hospital visiting was extremely limited due to the pandemic.

Haven House worked to rapidly discharge children from hospital, even going out of area to support other teams with its clinical expertise to respond to emergency requests. This enabled families to be together during such an unimaginable time either in the hospice or at home with around the clock support.

This support has been praised by fellow professionals who have highlighted the ‘extreme lengths’ the hospice went to fulfilling a family’s wish for their child to die at home, whilst still receiving the best possible care.

As many families shielded, the hospice team delivered a package of virtual support including music therapy, counselling, therapeutic yoga, play and even physiotherapy.

A live virtual memory day service was provided for bereaved families, while the weekly pharmacy clinic, regular coffee mornings and Dad’s group provided peer and professional support to carers, to ease isolation and provide a continued sense of community. This helped ease some of the effects of the restriction of services caused by the pandemic.

Eileen said: “Staff have excelled in circumstances of profound pressure and we are proud to be shortlisted so that we can showcase the commitment and resilience of such an extraordinary team.”

The next stage will require the team to deliver a short presentation of their work to a panel of judges. The winners will be announced at a special event later this year.