Children's hospice inspires visiting Spanish medics on fact-finding mission

A team of Spanish doctors and nurses have travelled to Derian House to help realise their dream of building Spain’s first-ever children’s hospice.

A paediatric palliative care team from Cudeca Adult Hospice in Malaga toured the United Kingdom for a week to learn about hospice care, including a day at Derian House Children's Hospice.

The team are looking to create Spain's first children's hospice, and visited Derian for inspiration.

Derian House is home to more than 50 different children’s hospices and was the final stop for the group.

They also visited Claire House Children’s Hospice on the Wirral, Hope House Children’s Hospice in Shropshire, and Helen and Douglas House in Oxford.

Ana Devesa del Valle, a paediatrician at Cudeca Hospice, said: "We visited Derian House and it was an amazing experience for the whole team.

"We had the opportunity to look at the facilities and meet the wonderful professionals who work there."

One aspect of Derien House that stood out to the group was how respite services provided necessary relief for families, as well as a variety of activities.

Miss Devesa del Valle added: "We were very impressed by the swimming pool and the multi-sensory area, as well as the cinema room and loved the outdoor areas.

"After our visit to Derian House, we returned to Spain with many ideas to implement in our hospice."

Catherine Randall, chief nurse at Derian House, said: "It was an honour to show our colleagues from Spain and Cambodia the work we do here at Derian House.

"We hope they have taken some valuable learning from their visit."

In addition to the Spanish medical team, biomedical scientist Chiek Sivhour and urologist Dr Han Oudam from Cambodia also visited the hospice to learn about its innovative strategies.

They spent time in Derian House’s gardens and ball pool and met with patients during their exploratory visit.