Get behind city kids’ hospice plan, bereaved mum urges

A bereaved Liverpool mother whose life "shattered into a million pieces" after her daughter's terminal diagnosis has called for the city to get behind plans for a new children's hospice.

Holly Smallman, a "beautiful, courageous and determined" little girl, was born in 2001 with cerebral palsy, chronic lung disease and epilepsy.

Despite her family being told that she would not live past her first birthday, Holly lived until she was 18 years old, receiving regular support from Wirral-based hospice Claire House.

Her mum, Hayley Smallman, is now throwing her support behind a new West Derby site for the hospice, which she says is ”desperately needed“ to cut down travel times for sick children in the city.

Hayley told BBC Radio Merseyside that travelling to Claire House was would make her anxious because of how far away it was.

But she said the support received there had been incredible.

"I didn't know where to turn because I was dealt this delivery of a diagnosis that my daughter was not going to live for very long.

"All of sudden you have to become a different type of parent that you never envisage you would be, and the only place that was there was that could help us was Claire House."

The 49-year-old said when plans were announced by Claire House to open a new site she was ”overjoyed“.

Hayley is focused on helping to get Claire House Liverpool fully open and functioning and ran the Manchester to Liverpool 50 Mile Ultra Challenge in March to raise money for the charity's campaign The Extra Mile Counts.

"Our city desperately needs this service close to home," she said.

Hayley urged the "incredible" community of Liverpool to "take ownership" of the city's new children's hospice.

She added: "We need to get behind this and become the gold standard of children's hospices and show the rest of the country what we can do.

"We've got the potential to own the best hospice ever in Liverpool."

Kate Jones, from Warrington, Cheshire, said her son Josh was supported by Claire House for most of his life.

She said sadly he was unable to make the journey to Wirral in his final days and died in hospital.

"We always wanted Josh to pass at Claire House, but he was too ill to be transferred to the Bebington site. It was just too far.

"If the West Derby site was up and running, we absolutely would have preferred him to be transferred so he could pass there instead of in the hospital."

She added: "We wouldn't have chosen a hospital for him."

Claire House already provides therapeutic services, emotional support and day care for families at the West Derby site, which is close to Alder Hey Children's Hospital and Liverpool Women's Hospital.

However, without a purpose-built hospice, families are unable to stay overnight or access the full range of specialist medical care they need.

David Pastor, chief executive of Claire House, said the charity realised about ten years ago it supported more children and families from Liverpool than anywhere else - and yet there were no facilities in the city.

Claire House is now on "the cusp of getting planning permission" and working hard on the final fundraising push to "get it over the line".

He said: "Children in Liverpool need hospice care closer to home and extra miles really count.

"Many families simply can't reach our Wirral hospice particularly when their child is critically ill or sadly at the end of their life."

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