SCOTLAND’S first children’s hospice is set for a £17 million revamp to help continue providing vital care, 30 years after it opened.
The Kinross-based Rachel House is one of two children's hospices run by Children's Hospices Across Scotland (Chas) and will undergo “extensive upgrades” to ensure it continues to meet the needs of the families who rely on it.
The redesign will include an additional hydrotherapy pool, better-equipped bedrooms, and fully accessible adventure gardens.
Work on the building is due to start next year, with the full project set for completion in 2027, subject to approval from Perth and Kinross Council.
The charity said that the redesign had “put children and families at the heart of the process” with their input key to the changes being made.
Dr Qusai Alhamdan, whose children Mo and Elaine have been supported by Rachel House since 2021, said Rachel House holds a “very close” place in her family's hearts.
The children both suffer from ataxia with oculomotor apraxia, which causes problems with movement, co-ordination and balance.
“As their condition is degenerative, making memories together as a family is very important to us and we have spent many wonderful respite visits at Rachel House over the last four years,” Alhamdan said.
“My wife Esraa and I find our visits to the hospice very relaxing because we don't have to worry about our caring responsibilities as the lovely nurses and staff take over and do everything that is needed so we can just enjoy precious time together.”
Built in 1996, Rachel House cost £10m and supported just under 100 children a year in the first few years.
Now that number has more than doubled and continues to rise, the charity said.
Ken Lowndes’ two daughters, Jenny and Marion, were two of the first children to be cared for when the hospice first opened.
Both were born healthy, normal babies, but with a two-year age gap, Jenny and Marion were diagnosed with leukodystrophy when they were four years old.
Before Rachel House opened, the family made a regular 900-mile round trip from their home in Achiltibuie, north of Ullapool, to Martin House in West Yorkshire.
Lowndes said: “The time we had together in Rachel House was precious for our whole family. It was a place my wife Ann and I felt supported and where we knew our girls would be loved and cared for.
“Children’s hospices can sound frightening but in reality it’s a place of joy, light and humour, where memories are made and where parents can recharge their batteries and can just be parents – not parent, medic, and round the clock carer.”
He added: “We helped to fundraise for Rachel House but we never knew if Jenny and Marion would get to visit, if they’d live to see it. They did. They loved it, as did we all.
“Ensuring the next generation of families has the same standard of care that my family experienced is vital and the redesigned Rachel House will go on to make a huge difference to hundreds more Scottish families.”
Chas CEO, Rami Okasha, said the project is a huge development for the charity, but one they haven’t taken on lightly.
He added that the charity wants to transform end-of-life care for children and continue to deliver the highest level of care at the hospice.
Okasha said: “CHAS gives unwavering care to children who may die young, and their families, at every step on the hardest of journeys. Rebuilding Rachel House will cost £17 million and is part of getting that right. Applying for planning permission today is the first important step for us.
“This is a huge project for us and one we haven’t taken on lightly. We want to transform end-of-life care for children and their families in Scotland. While Rachel House has served hundreds of families well until now, to deliver the high-level care required long into the future we need to upgrade and rebuild.
Okasha added: “No one should face the death of their child alone and to be successful we are once again asking or donors to get on board and help raise the millions of pounds that will make a difference every day for families dealing with the unimaginable reality of loving and caring for a child who will die young.”
