Children's Hospice South West (CHSW) is a registered charity that provides palliative, respite, end-of-life and bereavement care for life limited children and their families from the South West England region. It is responsible for two of the 41 children's hospices in the United Kingdom.
CHSW was founded by Jill and Eddie Farwell in 1991 after spending many years travelling to Helen House in Oxford with their own two life limited children. Following a feasibility study, they raised funds and Little Bridge House at Fremington near Barnstaple in North Devon opened in 1995,[1] and instantly provided support for up to 200 families in the South West with life limited children.
The second hospice, Charlton Farm at Wraxall, North Somerset near Bristol, was born out of the growing need to provide additional children's hospice care in the South West. Charlton Farm opened its doors to the first families in April 2007.[2]
Plans are now under way to extend this service into Cornwall. The hospice in Cornwall is called Little Harbour and is due to open in November 2011. It will offer more choices to families across the South West and will also provide a place closer to home for many families from Cornwall and Plymouth, who may find the journey to Little Bridge House and Charlton Farm too far. Children's Hospice South West's £5 million Precious Lives Appeal has been set up to fund the build of this third hospice. Little Harbour has been built at Porthpean, St Austell.[3][4]