EXCLUSIVE: Florrie's Children's Respite Service to close

After 25 years of support for Bucks families, the service will close on August 1st.

The decision to close Florries was taken together by Florence Nightingale Hospice Charity and Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust. In a joint statement, the organisations said the basis for the difficult decision was a reduction in demand for the service in recent years.

The service has had no new referrals since August 2024, with many families said to be receiving support from other services which will continue to be available. These include Children and Young People's Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy and Speech and Language Therapy, specialist school settings, community and school nursing services, and social care provision. 

Florrie's has been providing in-house care to children with life-limiting illnesses for over 25 years, made possible by funding from Florence Nightingale Hospice Charity and delivered by the Trust. Both organisations say they want to thank the staff who have cared for children and families through the service, and the families themselves for the trust they have placed in Florrie's over the years.

All families impacted by the service's closure have been contacted, with BHT working with them to ensure the right support is in place. 

Raghuv Bhasin, Chief Executive of Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust, said: "Florrie's has been a source of comfort and support for so many families over the past 25 years, and we are enormously grateful to Florence Nightingale Hospice Charity for making that possible. This has been an incredibly difficult decision, and we understand how unsettling this news will be. We are committed to working closely with every family to make sure the right support continues to be in place for their child."

Jo Turner, Chief Executive of Florence Nightingale Hospice Charity, added: “Florrie's has been part of the fabric of family support in Buckinghamshire for 25 years, and we are incredibly proud of everything it has achieved for local children and their families. It has been a difficult decision for our Charity to focus totally on adult hospice care but we are reassured that BHT is ensuring each family has the right support”. 

Families currently using Florrie's, or anyone with questions about the closure, can contact, Claire Griffiths, Lead Nurse for Palliative Care via the Trust switchboard on 01296 315000