Children’s Hospice Week 2026
Children’s Hospice Week is the UK’s only dedicated awareness week for children’s hospice care – a moment to recognise the incredible support provided to children with life‑limiting and life‑threatening conditions, and the families who care for them every day.
For Jessie May, this week is a powerful opportunity to highlight the importance of hospice‑at‑home care, celebrate the families we support, and raise awareness of why specialist children’s palliative care is needed now more than ever.
Why Children’s Hospice Week Matters
Across the UK, thousands of children live with complex, life‑limiting conditions that require round‑the‑clock care. Families navigate hospital appointments, medical equipment, uncertainty, and the emotional weight of caring for a child with extraordinary needs.
Children’s hospices, including hospice‑at‑home services like Jessie May, are a lifeline. They provide specialist nursing care, short breaks, emotional support, and the chance for families to make memories together in the place they feel safest.
Children’s Hospice Week helps shine a national spotlight on:
- the importance of children’s palliative care
- the challenges families face
- the need for sustainable funding
- the vital role of children’s hospice nurses
- the impact of hospice‑at‑home services
It’s a chance to amplify the voices of families who often go unheard.
What Hospice‑at‑Home Care Means at Jessie May
At Jessie May, hospice‑at‑home care means bringing specialist nursing, emotional support, and moments of everyday joy directly into the place children feel safest – their own home.
Home is where families can breathe. It’s where difficult conversations feel a little easier, where trust grows naturally, and where children can simply be children. Our nurses step into that space with warmth, skill and compassion, becoming part of the family’s team. They provide clinical care, advocate for children who can’t speak for themselves, and offer the practical and emotional scaffolding families need to get through each day.
But hospice‑at‑home care is more than medical support. It’s helping parents catch their breath. It’s giving siblings time together. It’s enabling moments of “normality” that are often out of reach – baking in the kitchen, a trip to the park, or a few precious hours where exhausted parents can rest.
Our care extends beyond the child. We support the whole family through the highs, the heartache, and the everyday challenges. And when a child dies, we continue to walk alongside families for as long as they need us – weeks, months, years, even decades.
Jessie May’s hospice‑at‑home model is unique, deeply valued, and shaped by the belief that every child deserves comfort, choice, and the chance to make memories at home.
As one parent recently told us: “It becomes a bit more about living rather than just existing.”
That’s the heart of hospice‑at‑home care.
Sharing the Stories That Show Why This Care Matters
Throughout Children’s Hospice Week, we’ll be sharing powerful family stories that reveal the reality of caring for a child with complex medical needs, and the difference Jessie May makes.
These stories highlight why children’s hospice care and hospice‑at‑home support are essential lifelines for families across Bristol, South Gloucestershire, Bath & North East Somerset, and the surrounding areas.
👉 You can read all the family stories on our Children’s Hospice Week campaign page.
How You Can Support Children’s Hospice Week 2026
By reading, sharing and championing the stories of the families we support, you help raise awareness of the vital role children’s hospice care plays in the UK.
You can support Children’s Hospice Week by:
- Sharing our campaign page
- Learning more about children’s palliative care
- Donating to help us reach more families
- Talking about the importance of hospice‑at‑home care
- Advocating for better funding and support
Every voice helps shine a light on the children and families who need us.
Together, we can make sure every child with a life‑limiting condition – and every family who loves them – receives the care, compassion and support they deserve.
