Private company

Helen & Douglas House Hospice for Children and Young Adults

Logo: helenanddouglas.org.uk3

Hospice in Oxford, England

Helen & Douglas House is a registered hospice charity (no. 1085951) based in Oxford, England, providing palliative, respite, end-of-life and bereavement care to life-limited children and their families.2 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

1982Founded1
Thai Corner - geograph.org.uk - 1434863
Photo: Graham Horn, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons5

Helen & Douglas House is a registered hospice charity (no. 1085951) based in Oxford,2

The story

Helen House was the world's first children's hospice, set up in 1982 next to All Saints Convent by an All Saints Sister Frances Ritchie to provide respite care to the families of children with life-limiting conditions. Douglas House was set up in 2004 and was the world's first hospice built specifically for young adults.

Queen Camilla is the charity's patron. The charity has been featured in two BBC documentary series, in 2007 and 2009.

From Wikipedia’s article on Helen & Douglas House, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4

Products and brands

The hospice provides specialist palliative and respite care for children as well as end of life and bereavement care.

The care is provided by a team of doctors, nurses, carers and therapists, and is supported in the main by donations from the public, with only approximately 15% of the £5 million annual budget coming from the public sector.

The hospice announced in June 2018 that it would discontinue the Douglas House care services for young adults effective immediately, due to lack of funding.

From Wikipedia’s article on Helen & Douglas House, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4

Timeline

  1. 1982Founded Founded1