Charlton Farm: Parents determined to 'give back' to hospice

The Toller family have retained a strong link with Children's Hospice South West

Families have expressed their gratitude to a children's hospice as it marks its 30th anniversary.

Charlton Farm in Wraxall, Somerset, provides respite and end-of-life care for children and their parents.

Children's Hospice South West (CHSW), the charity that runs the hospice, says it has faced a challenging time during the pandemic.

It says it costs about £11m a year to run its three hospices, with the bulk of the money coming from donations.

CHSW chief executive Eddie Farwell, who co-founded the charity with his wife Jill 30 years ago, said hospices had "never been more vital".

"Many more children are living with significant levels of disability and the technology that has developed to support them means that the care we provide is not only more needed, but it becomes more technical," he said.

"The numbers have grown tremendously, the complexity has grown tremendously, and consequently it is a very expensive service to run."

Charlton Farm is one of three hospices run by the charity, the other two being Little Bridge House in north Devon and Little Harbour in Cornwall.

'It's a giant hug'

Baby Grayson spent four weeks at Charlton Farm with his parents Clare and Rich

Rich and Clare Toller have a long-term relationship with Charlton Farm.

They first came to the hospice to spend four weeks with their baby son Grayson before he passed away.

It meant they could take him out of hospital and make the most of the time they had together.

Charlton Farm is one of three sites run by Children's Hospice South West

"The noise changes from chaos to hearing people laughing" said Mr Toller. "That was probably the biggest surprise really. Clare has described it time and again as a giant hug."

"The day we left here we promised we'd be back" said Clare Toller.

"We've made it our life's work to give back what we've had and to make sure it is there for all those other families that need this place."

'Takes our mind off worries'

Jamie and Sharon are frequent visitors to the hospice

Jamie and his mother Sharon Withey have been coming to Charlton Farm for 12 years.

"It's having somewhere where you can come and recharge your batteries" she said.

"It can help reset Jamie as well - help him to take his mind off his worries and his problems as well." said Ms Withey

She said: "It just enables you to go back to life with a bit of a fresh start each time."