How many children and families do you care for?
Shooting Star supports more than 200 families at the hospice, in the community and at the family home. This includes families currently receiving post-bereavement support.

How many families are there who could require your services?
In our catchment area (the western half of London and surrounding areas) there are more than 1,000 families who have a child with a life-limiting condition. Our challenge is to continue to broadcast our presence and establish Shooting Star as a centre of excellence in the community.

How many nights does a family get allocated?
Each family is allocated 15 nights a year for respite care. If there is an emergency or a child requires end of life care, this does not count towards the 15 nights' allocation. When a child is receiving further care at another children's hospice, we communicate with the other hospice to ensure the overall allocation does not exceed 15 days. This results in a fair allocation for all children in need.

How many doctors/ nurses do you employ?
We have five GPs from different local practices, who provide round-the-clock
on-call cover. We work closely with the 'Symptom Control Team' at Great Ormond Street Hospital and a paediatric palliative consultant from attends Shooting Star House every week. We have more than 40 staff in the Care Team, made up of Paediatric Nurses, Nursery Nurses, Care Assistants, therapists, a Social Worker and a Counselling Services Coordinator.

How do you decide who receives care?
Referrals can come from anywhere (e.g. the family, GPs, hospitals, consultants, community nursing teams), provided it is with the knowledge and consent of the child's or young person's parent or main carer. We assess the needs of referred children and, after obtaining written consent from their families, seek further information about their condition from the professionals they see regularly. Each week we hold a multi-disciplinary referral panel, where we look at the information provided and decide together if the child fits our referral criteria. If a child is refused, we will always reconsider a further referral if their condition changes or new information becomes available. Similarly, there is a regular review of each child currently supported by Shooting Star.

How long does the referral process take?
The referral process usually takes about a week. Once accepted, care can be arranged quickly. In an emergency, a child or young person could be referred in a matter of hours, although this is not ideal in terms of planning with the family.

Can a child from another children?s hospice area also use Shooting Star House?
If a child lives closer to another hospice we would encourage them to apply to the one nearest their home for convenience. However, the family have the right to decide and we would support them in their decision. All children's hospice services work together and if a child who usually uses another hospice is coming to our area, they may contact us to see if we can help with their stay.

What kind of condition would a child have to have to be referred to Shooting Star House?
All the children we care for have life-limiting or life-threatening conditions as defined by ACT (Association of Children's Palliative Care). This may be for respite during their life, or for end of life care.

Will we be considering an adolescent unit in the near future?
We are looking at ways to ensure the continuing care of our children when they reach adulthood. Discussions are also taking place with adult hospices and other healthcare providers on this important area of transition.

We continue to strive to cater for all needs, but our research to date does not indicate that a new building is the way forward. We therefore have no plans to build an Adolescent Centre at present.