When people think about Little Havens’ care, they often think of hands-on clinical support and planned respite stays. While this care is so important to families, we know that supporting families goes far beyond medical needs.
Sometimes, what families need most is space. Space to rest. Space to spend time together. Space to simply be a family.
That’s why we offer self-care stays – a different kind of support designed to give families more flexibility, independence and opportunity to make the most of our facilities and local area, in a way that works for them.
Self-care stays allow families to stay at Little Havens outside of a planned respite visit, using our bedrooms, accessible spaces and gardens while continuing to manage their child’s care with the support of their own carers.
It might look like something simple as just a night away from home. But for families caring for a child with complex needs, these moments are often out of reach with the logistical challenges it brings.
During a self-care stay, families can make full use of the hospice facilities, from the sensory room to our expansive gardens. All their meals are provided, and the practical details are taken care of – removing some of the invisible load families carry every day.
Children and young people stay in bedrooms on the care floor, meaning they have the specific type of bed they need and a hoist system available throughout the room, with a parent or carer alongside them, while additional family members can stay in our upstairs accommodation.
For families like Aliyah’s, using the space at Little Havens for self-care stays has made the world of difference for her family …
Aliyah came into the world much earlier than expected – at just 26 weeks – facing an uphill battle from the very beginning.
By six months old, she had undergone a tracheostomy due to an extremely narrow airway and chronic lung disease. The first 13 months of Aliyah’s life were spent in hospital, as her family worked to put the right care in place to finally bring her home. Even now, with that support established, everyday experiences that many families take for granted remain incredibly difficult.
“Due to Aliyah’s complex medical needs, something as simple as a weekend away is often impossible,” Mum Leigh explains. “It requires extensive planning, risk assessments, coordinating care staff, and preparing for every possible scenario.”
For Aliyah’s family, self-care stays make it possible to navigate family life in a way that simply wouldn’t otherwise be achievable.
“Co-parenting a child with complex medical needs brings significant challenges, particularly when parents live apart. Finding a place that is safe, suitable and fully equipped for Aliyah to spend time with her dad would usually be incredibly difficult. But Little Havens has changed that.
“The ability to bring Aliyah’s home carers with us means her medical needs are fully supported, while she gets to enjoy something different, fun, and truly special in a beautiful setting.
“Most importantly, it allows her to spend meaningful one-on-one time with her dad in a safe and supported environment. Her dad feels reassured knowing there is always support available if needed. He can rest in the accommodation upstairs while Aliyah’s home nurse cares for her overnight, and throughout it all, Aliyah feels safe, happy, and truly special. And we have the peace of mind that she is close to home, her hospital and her Community Nursing team should she need anything.”
“To Aliyah, every visit feels like a ‘holiday.’ It’s a place where she is safe, cared for, and excited to go, which is so important in a world that can often feel scary for her.”
“Little Havens is a home away from home, but it’s more than that, for Aliyah, it’s a place filled with kindness and laughter.”
For families like Riley’s a self-care stay can provide a practical solution when home isn’t suitable.
While adaptations were being carried out at home, it wasn’t safe for Riley to be around the dust and disruption – but a hotel wasn’t an option either, as it couldn’t meet his specific needs. At Little Havens, the right bed, mattress and facilities were already in place, allowing Riley and his family to stay somewhere safe, comfortable and fully equipped for his care.
Mum Gemma says, “I can’t thank Little Havens enough for letting us stay while we were having work done at home. It truly felt like a little holiday – time for us to focus on being together and not worry about the chaos we’d left behind. It was so lovely to be able to use all the facilities during our stay.
“All the staff at Little Havens are amazing – nothing is ever too much trouble. We honestly don’t know what we would do without this place, the wonderful team, and the families we’ve met there.”
Self-care stays are one way Little Havens is adapting its services to help families make every day count, even when we aren’t caring for the child’s medical needs.
By making our space available in this way, families can spend time together, maintain important relationships, and have a break from the routines and pressures of care at home.
Published May 2026
