The Mayor of Waltham Forest, Councillor Yemi Osho, visited Haven House on Thursday 13 July and praised the charity’s Hospice at Home project.

Cllr Osho, who is also a nurse practitioner and a Queen’s nurse met with Haven House’s Chief Executive Mike Palfreman and Director of Care Eileen White.

The Mayor was given a tour of the hospice and its Holistic Care Centre. She received an update about Haven House’s Hospice at Home pilot project which launched in the London Borough of Waltham Forest in June 2016.

The service aims to help hard to reach families access hospice care in their homes and has supported 30 children since it launched last year.

The Mayor of Waltham Forest, Councillor Cllr Yemi Osho, said: “Haven House is such an important charity which does so much for families in our borough.

“I was really impressed to hear about the Hospice at Home service as it can help improve access to hospice care and make it easier for families to get support.”

Samina Darr who lives in Walthamstow with her 8-year-old son, Muhammad Hashim, said: “Hospice at Home has made a huge difference to Muhammad Hashim.

“Due to his condition sometimes it can be impossible to leave the house. He needs so much equipment and two to three people to help. Finding transport can be a nightmare.”

Through Hospice at Home, Muhammad Hashim receives regular visits from Haven House’s Care team who provide play and music therapy sessions. The visits give him the chance to enjoy himself and can calm him down if he’s feeling distressed or unwell.

The visits also mean Samina can have a vital short break to do the most basic things like the dishes, tidying up or just having five minutes to herself - tasks which are difficult when caring for a child with a life-limiting condition.

Eileen White, Director of Care at Haven House, said: “We really appreciate Cllr Osho taking the time to visit our hospice and discussing with her the work that we are doing in Waltham Forest.  

“Each year we support more and more families at our hospice, however there will always be some who prefer to receive care at home for their children.

“We believe Hospice at Home will help us reach some of these families and give greater choice to parents.

“We hope to extend Hospice at Home to neighbouring boroughs in due course.”

Working in partnership with the Waltham Forest Children's Community Nursing Team, Haven House is providing a range of services to several families in their homes in the borough as part of its Hospice at Home project.  

Services include pain, symptom and medication management, play and music therapy sessions, specialist emotional and bereavement support and end-of-life care.

Find out more about our services.