Helen & Douglas House

What Helen & Douglas House does

Helen & Douglas House is a registered UK children's hospice charity (Charity Number 1085951), founded in 1982 in Oxford, that delivers specialist palliative care to terminally ill children, young adults, and their families across Oxfordshire and the Thames Valley. The organisation operates two physical facilities: Helen House for children and Douglas House for young adults (Helen House was temporarily closed in June 2026 following a fire incident affecting power supply, with inpatient care consolidated at Douglas House). Core service lines include 24/7 inpatient hospice care, outreach nursing support delivered at home and in hospital, respite stays, bereavement counselling, and a dedicated sibling support programme. Beyond direct care, the charity runs an active clinical research programme, hosts the Principles of Paediatric Palliative Care ethics webinar series, and delivers international training in paediatric palliative care through partnerships with the International Children's Palliative Care Network (ICPCN), World Child Cancer, and THET, with recent activity in Ghana, Moldova, and Romania.

The business model is donation-funded rather than commercial. Services are provided free of charge to families, and the organisation must raise approximately £6 million annually to operate, with 86% of funding derived from voluntary public donations and roughly 14% from government sources. Revenue is diversified across individual one-off and regular giving, the Hospice Lottery, charity retail shops (physical stores plus an eBay online shop), challenge events (skydiving, London Marathon, Bike Oxford, treks), corporate partnerships (notably Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team), legacy giving through wills, and Gift Aid reclaim. Donation processing runs on Fundraise Up, GoCardless, PayPal, and JustGiving, with marketing supported by Mailchimp, Meta Custom/Lookalike Audiences, Google Analytics, DoubleClick, and AdSense.

The organisation is governed by a board of trustees and led by CEO David Whittingham, with a clinical leadership team including Medical Director Dr Emily Harrop, Clinical Director Andrea Lambert, Director of Nursing Sally Hayes, and Consultant Paediatrician Dr Charlotte Holland. It holds two consecutive Care Quality Commission 'Outstanding' ratings (July 2023 and November 2025), placing it among the 10% of UK independent health providers for children and young people to achieve this classification. Technology is used as marketing and operational utility (donation platforms, email, analytics, paid acquisition) rather than as a differentiator; no proprietary AI/ML capability is disclosed.

Name

Helen & Douglas House

Legal name

Helen & Douglas House

Website

https://helenanddouglas.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1982

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Helen & Douglas House is a UK children's hospice charity founded in 1982, providing specialist palliative care, respite, and bereavement support to terminally ill children, young adults, and families across Oxfordshire. Funded primarily by public donations, with an annual operating requirement of £6 million.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Children's Hospice Services

NAICS

Child and Youth Services (62411), Other Individual and Family Services (624190)

SIC

Services-Home Health Care Services (8082), Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Pediatric Hospice & Palliative Care (HLADAHAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Residential Hospice / Hospice House (Facility-Based) (HLADAHAC), Bereavement & Grief Support Services (Hospice-Affiliated/Independent) (HLADAHAL), Palliative Care, Hospice & Serious Illness Support (BPAGACAK)

Keywords

• Children's hospice care
• Palliative care services
• Bereavement support
• Paediatric palliative care
• Respite care

Headquarters

HQ city

Oxford

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Charitable Donations: Helen & Douglas House relies almost entirely on donations from the public, with 86% of their £6 million annual funding coming from voluntary donations. They accept one-off and regular donations through their website, phone, and post.
2. Charity Retail Shops: The charity operates multiple charity shops selling donated furniture and goods, with an online shop and eBay store presence.
3. Fundraising Events: Various fundraising events including skydiving, London Marathon, cycling events (Bike Oxford), treks, and community events. Participants set fundraising targets and collect donations.
4. Hospice Lottery: A regular lottery program where participants pay to enter with prizes awarded to lucky winners, generating ongoing donations.
5. Corporate Partnerships: Partnerships with businesses such as Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team, providing both funding and employee fundraising activities.
6. Legacies and Wills: Legacy giving program where supporters leave gifts in their wills to support the charity's ongoing work.
7. Gift Aid: Through the Gift Aid scheme, the charity reclaims 25p of tax on every £1 donated by UK taxpayers, increasing donation value at no extra cost to donors.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

Helen & Douglas House is a registered children's hospice charity providing specialist palliative care for terminally ill babies, children, and young people (aged 0–25) across Oxfordshire and surrounding counties. Core services include 24/7 in-patient hospice care, outreach nursing at home and in hospital, respite stays, end-of-life and post-death care, and family bereavement support — all provided free of charge to families. The charity funds this work primarily through public donations, charity shop sales, fundraising events, corporate partnerships, and legacies.

Product overview

Helen & Douglas House is a children's hospice charity providing specialist palliative care services through a multi-component model. The core offering includes in-patient hospice care at Douglas House (with Helen House temporarily closed for refurbishment), outreach nursing support delivered at home and hospital, and respite care stays. Bereavement support services encompass counselling, sibling programmes, and family support groups. The organisation extends its reach through retail charity shops (with online and eBay presence), fundraising events, and an international training programme in paediatric palliative care. Research and education initiatives, including ethics webinars for healthcare professionals, round out the service portfolio. Funding comes primarily from public donations (86%), with services provided free to families.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• In-Patient Hospice Care Specialist 24/7 hospice care for terminally ill children and young adults at the Oxford facility, providing medical and nursing care, pain and symptom management, end-of-life care, post-death care, play therapy, music therapy, and respite stays. Delivered free of charge to families.
• Outreach Nursing Support Specialist palliative care nursing visits and medical support delivered in families' homes and in hospital settings, offering symptom management, medication advice, and care coordination for children with life-limiting conditions.
• Bereavement Support Services Comprehensive bereavement support for families including one-to-one counselling, group therapy sessions, parent support groups, sibling counselling, and grandparent support groups after the death of a child.
• Respite Care Stays Overnight and daytime stays at the hospice giving families breaks from full-time caring responsibilities, with children receiving specialist care including nursing, therapeutic play, and symptom management while families rest.
• Sibling Support Programme Dedicated support services for brothers and sisters of children receiving hospice care, including one-to-one counselling sessions, bereavement activity days, camps, and group support sessions.
• Retail Charity Shops High street charity shops selling donated furniture, clothing, and household goods, supported by an online shop, eBay store, and free furniture collection service — with proceeds supporting the hospice's care services.

Quantifiable outcome

• 430 children and families cared for last year
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration13 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 TeamflagshipGTM or Marketing PartnerThe Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team selected Helen & Douglas House as their charity partner, providing high-profile corporate support and visibility for the hospice charity.
• International Children's Palliative Care Network (ICPCN)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHelen & Douglas House works with ICPCN for international training programmes. Dr Emily travelled to Ghana with ICPCN's Alex Daniels to teach children's palliative care. ICPCN is evaluating the Ghana programme in 2025.
• World Child CancercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with World Child Cancer for the Ghana training programme. World Child Cancer's UK government funding via THET supports the training programme. They are inspirational in their dedication to the training programme.
• Oxford University Foundation TrustcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with Oxford University Foundation Trust colleagues on the Principles of Paediatric Palliative Care webinar series education programme.
• Meta (Facebook, Instagram)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerSocial media advertising partner using Custom Audiences and Lookalike Audiences for targeted marketing communications.
• Hospices of HopeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational charity through which Dr Emily travelled to Moldova in May 2023. Two pediatricians from Romania visited Helen & Douglas House via this charity.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Martin House Children's Hospice: Martin House provides pediatric hospice care for children with life-limiting conditions across Yorkshire, including respite, emergency, and end-of-life care, plus bereavement support — a directly comparable UK children's hospice charity.
• Demelza Hospice Care for Children: Demelza provides hospice care for children with serious or terminal conditions across Kent, East Sussex, and South East London, offering respite, end-of-life care, and family bereavement support — directly comparable services, geography and target population to Helen & Douglas House.
• East Anglia's Children's Hospices (EACH): EACH operates children's hospices across East Anglia delivering palliative care, family support, and bereavement services funded primarily through donations — a direct UK peer in the pediatric hospice charity sector.
• Acorns Children's Hospice: Acorns Children's Hospice operates three children's hospices in the West Midlands and Worcestershire providing pediatric palliative care, respite, and bereavement support — a direct UK peer to Helen & Douglas House serving a similar mission and patient population.
• Claire House Children's Hospice: Claire House is a children's hospice in Merseyside providing palliative and end-of-life care, respite stays, and bereavement support to families of seriously ill children — directly comparable service model and donor-funded charity structure.
• Rainbows Hospice for Children and Young People: Rainbows Hospice serves children and young people with life-limiting conditions across the East Midlands, providing hospice care, end-of-life support, and family bereavement services — a directly comparable pediatric hospice charity.
• Shooting Star Children's Hospices: Shooting Star Children's Hospices operates hospice services in Surrey and London for babies, children, and young people with life-limiting conditions, offering respite, end-of-life care, and family bereavement support — directly comparable pediatric hospice model.
• Hope House Children's Hospices: Hope House operates children's hospices in Shropshire and Cheshire serving children with life-limiting conditions and their families, with comparable palliative, respite, and bereavement services funded through voluntary donations.

Regional players

• Tŷ Hafan Children's Hospice: Tŷ Hafan is Wales's children's hospice providing palliative care, respite, and family support across South Wales — a comparable pediatric hospice charity operating in a distinct UK region from Helen & Douglas House.

Others

• Together for Short Lives: Together for Short Lives is the UK charity sector body for children's palliative care, advocating and supporting member hospices including Helen & Douglas House — a thematically adjacent ecosystem participant rather than direct competitor.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/HelenAndDouglas
• Facebookfacebook.com/HelenAndDouglasHouse
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/helen-douglas-house
• Instagraminstagram.com/helenanddouglashouse

Compliance5 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Helen & Douglas House