Demelza delivers extraordinary care to extraordinary children who are facing serious or life-limiting conditions. They support families when and where we’re needed most – in their hospices, in families homes, in local communities and online.
Demelza have 2 residential hospices in Kent and South East London and a community hub in East Sussex.
Mission
To deliver care that doesn’t back down to children and young people with serious or life-limiting conditions, and their families, across Kent, South East London and East Sussex – from first diagnosis and for as long as they’re needed.
Vision
To see a world where children and young people with serious or life-limiting conditions, and their families, have access to personalised, expert care – enabling them to live their best lives.
Values
At Demelza, values are the foundation of everything they do: guiding their care, how they deliver services and how they communicate with families, each other and the wider community.
Services
The number of children and young people living with serious or life-limiting conditions is increasing every year. Many need 24-hour care and support.
Family services
Families can access holistic, wraparound support, including counselling, a range of therapies, family experiences, and much more.
Specialist short breaks
Demelza offers specialist short breaks for families with children with the highest complex care needs, plus step-down care to bridge the gap between hospital and home, and daycare in the home and the community.
Specialist nursing care
Providing specialist nursing will always be a priority at Demelza, and with more than 25 years’ experience of caring for children and young people with serious or life-limiting conditions, the nursing team will be there to support families when and where needed most.
Bereavement support
Whether online, on the phone or in person, they remain committed to supporting families through the most difficult of times
Learn more about Demelza’s care and support by clicking here.
The history of Demelza
The organisation carries the name of Demelza Phillips, daughter of Derek and Jennifer Phillips, who died of a brain tumour at the age of 24.
Demelza worked at a children’s hospice in Birmingham and was inspired by their work and its impact. This passion was passed onto her parents and is what inspired the creation of Demelza charity and their hospices.
Derek and Jennifer had the vision to establish a children’s hospice in the South East of England, and working with a small group of founding supporters, in 1994 they set up a charity that campaigned tirelessly across the areas where Demelza is now so well established.
This attracted thousands of supporters and in 1998 our patron, the Countess of Burma, opened the hospice in Sittingbourne, Kent. The building was designed by Derek himself as an architect and is a remarkable bringing together of beauty, serenity and practicality.
