Scotland’s only children’s hospice charity is urging people across the country, including in the Falkirk area, to help transform palliative care for young people after revealing it’s supporting more families than ever before.

Children’s Hospices Across Scotland (CHAS) has launched its summer fundraising campaign as part of an ambitious £20 million More Than A Hospice Appeal.

The appeal is linked to a three year transformation project which aims to give every family facing the reality of a child with a life-shortening condition access to expert care whenever they need it.

The fundraiser will allow the charity to carry out a number of improvements including a rebuild of Rachel House in Kinross, which will include a large purpose-built hydrotherapy pool; the modernisation of Robin House in Balloch; an expansion of CHAS care into family homes and increasing specialist care and hospital support across Scotland.

Over the past four years the number of families accessing support has increased by 17 per cent, while CHAS hospice stays have risen by 45 per cent within just three years.

Last year alone, CHAS supported 540 babies, children and young people across hospice, community and hospital settings, as well as supporting 1,800 individual family members, the highest recorded number in the charity’s history.

For Jennifer Rutherford from Forth Valley, whose 10-year-old son Quinns lives with a rare neurological condition called GNA01, a stay at CHAS's Rachel House hospice offers something many parents take for granted.

Jennifer said: “For those few days, I can just be his mum again. We're not thinking about medication, equipment, appointments or care routines. We're spending time together as a family. We can breathe. We can rest. We can make memories."

Jennifer Rutherford from Forth Valley, along with 10-year-old son Quinns. (Pic. Contributed.)

placeholder image — Jennifer Rutherford from Forth Valley, along with 10-year-old son Quinns. (Pic. Contributed.)

CHAS chief executive Rami Okasha said: "Every week in Scotland, families hear news that will change their lives forever. They learn their child has a condition that will shorten their life, and from that moment they begin a journey no family should have to face alone."

"CHAS is there from diagnosis onwards, helping families navigate the unimaginable. We provide expert care, practical support, respite, therapy and, when the time comes, end-of-life care and bereavement support."

To support both the summer appeal and learn more about the £20m More Than A Hospice Appeal, visit the CHAS website.