Building for the future project

The building work is complete and the fantastic new facilities now allow us to provide more care, in age appropriate surroundings, further enhancing the quality of life for the children and young people we support.

The new facilities will enable the hospice to accommodate children and young people over the age of 18 at the same time. The facilities include a hydrotherapy pool, a state-of-the-art multi-sensory room, family support lounge, 6 new and 8 refurbished bedrooms and much, much more. Rainbows has invested £4million in the new facility, which will enable them to provide more care and support for local families.

The increased capacity will require us to raise an extra £1 million each year, primarily through donations and the wonderful generosity of the East Midlands’ public and business community, without which Rainbows would not be able to continue its vital support.

Thankyou to all our supporters who have made this possible, and please continue to support us into the future.

Why Rainbows needed to expand

There is now so much demand for Rainbows’ services that we have expanded our building to provide new facilities and accommodate more children and young adults.
Rainbows Hospice for Children and Young People has more than 15 years experience of caring for life-limited children from the East Midlands. Our wonderful new wing will further benefit the children and enable us to care for young people after they reach the age of eighteen.

When a young person reaches eighteen they normally have to leave the comfort and familiarity of Rainbows. There is a gap in the provision of care services for young people, and a child’s transition from Rainbows to an adult hospice can be difficult and often disturbing. Our new wing will allow us to care for all age groups at the same time. It will also increase access to the hospice services and facilities for all those who currently depend on Rainbows.

The extended facilities allow us to increase the work we do with young people as they try to balance the need to transition to adult care and greater independence with the knowledge that they still have a condition that will shorten their life.

It can be difficult to maintain a focus on the normal activities of daily life whilst a child is receiving terminal or palliative care. A child’s own priority would not necessarily be their physical needs or medical treatment. Play within the hospice provides sensory stimulation. The provision of more specialist equipment and the opportunity for extra social activities, together with improved facilities, will allow our children to behave like children. Six extra bedrooms will allow more children and their families to stay at the hospice – a real benefit for everyone allowing Rainbows to offer a lot more care.

Rainbows is the only children’s hospice in the East Midlands and is now caring for a greater number of families. Although essential end-of-life care is always available, the number of nights for specialist respite care has reduced. The new wing added to the current building increases the number of nights for respite stays and allows young people over eighteen their own separate sleeping accommodation.
Building for the Future will also allow all age groups to stay at the same time, increasing access to the hospice and facilities for all those who currently depend on Rainbows. Thankyou to all that have helped to support this project.