LITTLE Harbour — the name is 'porthpean' in Cornish — conjures up the image of a safe haven

Children's Hospice South West's most recent and ambitious project, the Little Harbour hospice near Porthpean beach, is now up and running thanks to dedicated fundraising carried out by an army of volunteers, 'friends' groups and businesses, eager to replicate the vital work at its other bases in North Devon and Somerset.

The Precious Lives appeal for Little Harbour was launched in 2007 — by 2011, the appeal had hit its £5-million target, with the hospice opening its doors in January.

Bernadette Thoreau, the hospice's corporate partnerships fundraiser, said: 'It's a really beautiful building, we are incredibly lucky.

'It's designed so as to avoid straight corridors where necessary — our families spend so much time in hospital where straight corridors are the norm, we wanted to make this feel as much as possible like a home from home.

'In the first six months we have had more families use the service than we had anticipated for the whole year. It's very sad, but it's testament to the fact that such a facility is much needed.'

Little Harbour provides rooms for six children on the ground floor. Carer and sibling accommodation is on the first floor.

The children's rooms are very spacious, with en suite facilities. The only real indications of medical equipment are the hoists which are built into each room, but the attention to every detail is minute, down to the sinks in the wet room-style en suite — a 'zapper' operated sink can be lowered and raised and there are remote controlled taps.

Staff have a huge stock of linen, pictures and decorations. It means when a young Manchester United fan is coming to stay, he — or she — will find he has a Man Utd duvet on the bed, and some posters. The same goes for Disney, games fans or music fans.

All the bedrooms have large double doors, which enables the beds to be wheeled out on to the patio which surrounds the building.

A door between two of the bedrooms can be unlocked, enabling a parent or grandparent to sleep near their child if they wish — or even for children who have made friends at Little Harbour to enjoy a 'sleepover' experience, something they would probably find incredibly difficult to achieve at home.

Upstairs, the bedrooms are equipped to hotel standard, yet still retain a homely feel. There is also an upstairs kitchen, allowing parents to fix themselves a meal if they don't wish to eat in the main dining room downstairs.

The living rooms and play rooms branch off from the central hall. Everywhere there is a wonderful feeling of light and space.

Bernadette said: 'When people first came to see it before we were open, they would comment on how homely it felt. But it's really, really homely now — there are toys that have been dropped here and there, children's paintings and artwork — it's wonderful.'

In one alcove you may come across a giant cuddly tiger, with an electric guitar between its front paws. There's a dressing up corner, the 'beach hut' designed to look just like a seaside beach hut — and the incredibly popular messy play area.

Bernadette said: 'They have brilliant fun in here with arts and crafts which is also very important for the siblings.

'As much as it's a fun room, there's some really serious work that goes on.

'We have a dedicated sibling team whose sole job is to work with the siblings and make a big fuss of them.

'Last week they organised a nail bar and everyone had to go in there and get their nails done!'

'The team do a lot of stuff with them in here. While they are working they can draw children out and talk about their feelings, they can create memory boxes, and they do activities which explain to children about life.'

The games room has an air hockey table, bar football table, drum kit, a flight simulator and an impressive array of computer equipment, which has been donated by the Lifelites organisation. It's all completely usable by children in wheelchairs and with limited movement — there's even a baseball cap with a sensor inside which can operate a computer.

Bernadette said: 'This room is really popular with teenagers. A lot of them don't necessarily want to be with their parents by that age. We have special teenage weekends here, when we might get beauticians in, for example, they stay up late, and they order pizza.

'At Little Bridge once we even organised for the police to do a mock-up raid, which they thought was fantastic!'

The multi-sensory room is a great favourite with many of the children, with its bubble tanks, light strings and music.

Bernadette said: 'I was with a 14-year-old boy in here the other day and he absolutely loved it — you could tell how happy he was in there, he just was not going to come out for lunch!

'Music can be played through a special chair, so that children who can't hear can feel the vibrations, and the water bed is brilliant for children who have bad muscle pain.'

Another popular room — and not just for the children — is The Lobster Pot. A bright and colourful space, it houses a climbing frame, slide, sit-on toys and a tempting ball pool.

Bernadette said: 'This is a favourite room, for sure. I know you can get public facilities like these, but a lot of our children aren't able to use them, partly because they might be in a wheelchair but also because of the risk of infection.

'Here, even quite poorly children can play with their siblings safely — and even the parents have a go in here from time to time.'

The Starfish Room boasts a large jacuzzi pool in which to soothe sore muscles and lift stress. Again, it's great for children who can't use public facilities — and also for mums and dads to relax in with a glass of wine.

Bernadette said: 'The divorce rate for couples with life-limited children is incredibly high. It's very, very hard work and emotionally draining, which is why it's so important that parents can chill out when they come here. A lot of our single parents say it really gives them the chance to relax in a way they can't anywhere else.'

Bernadette said everyone working at the hospice had the opportunity to do care shifts, which she had done just recently.

'It really struck me just how long everything takes to do — just to get this lad up in the morning, get him changed, sort his tubes out — there's so much to do and for these parents, it's constant and it's really tough.

'Many of them never get a full night's sleep, which is why it's so important to relax when they come here.'

There is a welcoming dining room off the kitchen, where carers are welcome to help with meals if they wish. Mealtimes are important, providing carers with the chance to enjoy a social meal and chat with people who know only too well the experiences they are going through. There's also a lovely conservatory, with huge windows so that everyone, whether they are able-bodied or in a wheelchair, has unrestricted views out to the rolling countryside.

Little Harbour offers respite care to families for between 18 and 21 nights a year — it can be taken all in one go or in short breaks. It might be that the whole family comes, just the poorly child, or maybe a grandparent may accompany them, allowing parents to have time at home with other siblings.

The building is designed to be as flexible as possible, in order to cope with whatever the families' needs may be.

Care is provided 24/7, the care team working from 'The Lion's Den' at night time, where there are screens and control panels, enabling them to keep a close eye on all the children.

Bernadette said: 'It means parents know that there's always someone here, which means they can relax in their rooms and get a good rest. Also, when they get home, they know in the middle of the night they can pick up the phone and speak to someone, which can be very comforting.'

While much of the work of the hospice is about respite care, ultimately, the children needing such support will sadly come to the end of their lives. This is when the Starborn room is used. It has been made to feel as much like an ordinary bedroom as possible, and will contain the children's toys and their favourite music can be played. The room is chilled which means families can take their time to say their goodbyes to the child, who can stay in the room for up to two weeks.

Bernadette said: 'Within weeks of us first opening here, we had our first Starborn child, and the family held the funeral service here as well.

'It was incredibly sad, the family had come here just to look around, but the baby took a turn for the worse. The mother said she didn't know how she would have coped without the help she had here.'

Kerensa, which is the Cornish word for love, is the name given to the circular room just close by Starborn. It's used for christenings, funerals, special memory weekends. It's a quiet, peaceful room with beautiful stained glass windows, designed on a seaside theme.

Bernadette said: 'At Little Bridge, the chapel held a full wedding service, with a vicar, and they had cake afterwards and everyone dressed up — for two teddy bears!

'Things like that would be bizarre anywhere else but here, it's perfectly normal.

'The mum of the little boy said it was the closest thing she'd ever see to her son getting married.'

At the centre of Little Harbour is the Crow's Nest — reached by lift or stairs, the circular room at the top of the tower commands incredible views out over St Austell Bay, and inland across rural countryside to the clay villages.

Little Harbour's position in the county means it's quite easily accessible to families from the far west of Cornwall, and to West Devon and Plymouth to the east, fulfilling the hospice founders' dream that there would be South West hospice facilities for children within a 90-minute drive.