Duchess Kate's 1st Official Public Speech ~ Monday March 19, 2012

Official Press Release from East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices:

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THE DUCHESS OF CAMBRIDGE WILL VISIT AND FORMALLY OPEN

THE TREEHOUSE IN IPSWICH ON MONDAY 19 MARCH 2012

On Monday March 19th, Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cambridge, who is East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices (EACH) Royal Patron, will visit and formally open The Treehouse- a hospice service for Suffolk and Essex run by EACH.

During the visit, The Duchess will tour the facilities including the sensory room and music room, and meet children and their families who receive care and support from EACH, as well as staff and supporters. A private tour of the bedrooms and care area will also take place.

Following the tour, Her Royal Highness will make her first public address, before

planting a tree in the grounds of The Treehouse to commemorate her visit.

On Thursday January 5, 2012, the charity announced that Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cambridge accepted the honorary position of EACH Royal Patron. The Treehouse visit on Monday March 19 will be Her Royal Highness’s first public engagement as Royal Patron of EACH, and follows a private visit to the EACH Milton hospice in November last year.

The Treehouse has revolutionised children’s hospice care across Suffolk and North Essex, and was only made possible by the generosity of donors who supported The Treehouse Appeal and raised £3 million in less than 12 months.

The previous EACH hospice in Ipswich was too small and unable to meet demand.

Unlike the previous hospice, The Treehouse has a hydrotherapy pool and dedicated sensory and music rooms. There are also more bedrooms, reducing the need for short-break care to be cancelled if end of life care is being delivered.

During the visit Her Royal Highness will tour the extensive hospice facilities and learn first-hand the difference it has made to children and families who use the service. She will also meet with supporters who went to extraordinary lengths to raise funds. Graham Butland, EACH Chief Executive, said: “Everyone at EACH is honoured and extremely proud to have The Duchess of Cambridge as Royal Patron and delighted that she will be formally opening The Treehouse on March 19. 

“This will be Her Royal Highness’s first public engagement as EACH Royal Patron and children, families, staff and supporters are very much looking forward to the visit.” 

“The visit will showcase the magnificent facilities we can now offer to local lifethreatened children and their families. It will also and celebrates the supporters of The Treehouse Appeal whose generosity made the dream of a specialist children’s hospice for Suffolk and North Essex a reality.

“Having our work recognised in this way by Her Royal Highness is not only a tribute to our staff and supporters, but a huge boost for the children, young people and families receiving our care and support.

“The Duchess’s support, including the visit on March 19, continues to help us increase the awareness and understanding of the full range of services we offer children and families, and really celebrates the great work being done by all children’s hospices across the UK.”

~ Ends ~

Notes to editors:

Background (For publication or broadcast):

East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices (EACH) supports families and cares for children and young people with life-threatening conditions across Suffolk, Essex, Cambridgeshire and Norfolk. The charity provides care and support wherever the family wishes – in families’ own homes, in the community or at one of their three

hospices in Ipswich, Milton and Quidenham – with the challenges that having a lifethreatening condition can often bring. The range of support includes short break care, specialist play activities, music therapy, hydrotherapy, parent groups and siblings groups, care at the end of life and bereavement support for all family members.

The Duchess will tour The Treehouse on her arrival, meeting children and their families who use the hospice’s facilities, including a sensory room and music room, during which time Her Royal Highness will meet staff and supporters. The Duchess will also be given a private tour of the bedroom and care areas of The Treehouse. 

Following the Tour, The Duchess will meet a number of supporters as well as being invited to address the assembled guests (which include staff, children and their families and EACH supporters). At the end of Her Royal Highness’s visit, The Duchess will plant a tree in the grounds of The Treehouse.  The Duchess of Cambridge became Royal Patron of East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices in January 2012.

(A limited number of passes to the front 'outside' area of the hospice have been offered to local residents and the general public, via a ballot publicised in the EADT & Ipswich Star.)

EACH information:

• EACH supports families and cares for children and young people with life-threatening conditions across Cambridgeshire, Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk.
• EACH delivers a range of services that includes: short break care, specialist play activities, music therapy, hydrotherapy, parent and sibling groups, care at end of life and bereavement support for all family members.
• EACH provides care and support wherever the family wishes – in the families’ own home, in the community or at one of our hospices in Ipswich, Milton or Quidenham.
• EACH continues to develop the quality and range of our services to support children and their families. The number of families they help continues to increase – last year they helped 547 families.
• EACH needs to raise around £4.8 million from public donations to deliver their services this year. This amounts to more than £13,000 a day, every day of the year.
• Recognised by The Duchess as a leader in their field, EACH developed a care pathway so parents can take their baby from hospital to home or go to a hospice when they need end of life care. They also run a 24/7 symptom support and advice service for children with life threatening illnesses and complex health needs.

For further information about this news release please contact:

Simon Hempsall, East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices: +44 (0) 1953 715534, 07702

176212, simon.hempsall@each.org.uk

Lindsey Newton, East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices: +44 (0) 1223 205183, 07501

432788 lindsey.newton@each.org.uk

Nick Loughran, St James’s Palace: +44 (0)20 7024 5728,

nick.loughran@royal.gsx.gov.uk