Our jobs had to change, especially in the beginning. Before we got long-term children staying in residential, we were told to go on outreach. Then as time went on, you were either locked down in residential or you were doing outreach. We were used to going out; taking the children out of residential to the cinema. But everything was closed down. And all the long-term children staying in residential were really high-level cases. It was quite intense and stressful.

Having to wash your hands every minute, and take a test every time you go in, can be trying. I just try to stay positive. It was a big change for me to be going into communities. I felt like I was impacting families that I was looking after. With one family, the parents were terrified to take their vulnerable children outside. I was able to encourage them, that at some point these children needed to get some fresh air.

It was nice to see children being looked after in their homes. And it made you understand the child a bit more, in terms of why they are the way they are, and how they’re living in their environment.

We’ve been in survival mode of just trying to get through the whole pandemic. Now we’re trying to readjust, still not knowing what we can do and depending on the child. Recently we were able to take a child to the cinema because things are starting to open up again.

It has been quite hard to create memories, in line with our values. But now we can get back to that: creating good memories for these children.

Richard House continue to deliver palliative care to life-limited children both at Richard House and, increasingly, at home. One family who have benefited from their specialist palliative care is Natasha and her daughter Aliyah, 3. Natasha and Aliyah have been visiting Richard House for more than 3 years now, since Aliyah was 6 months old.

Natasha explains why Richard House is so important to her and Aliyah:

“My days are full of caring for Aliyah and her complex needs. She can’t walk or talk and needs specialised care, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Aliyah hasn’t yet been diagnosed but her condition shows similar characteristics to Cerebral Palsy. To help Aliyah thrive and stay as well as possible, we need to make sure she spends a certain amount of time in different positions; such as her chair, standing frame or tummy time. It’s quite full-on really.

Richard House provides parents like us a rest, which without Richard House I wouldn’t get. They provide staff who can mimic exactly what we do and provide the same level of care I give.

They also provide us the opportunity to interact with other parents, who know exactly what each other are going through. It allows us to expand our support system.

Over the past year, we haven’t been able to get that same level of interaction and it has meant many of us have become very isolated.”

These words are echoed by so many of the parents and care givers who are supported through Richard House but truthfully so many of them felt this way before the pandemic ever began and months of isolation has left many struggling to cope. This is why it is so essential Richard House restart their services.