Children's Hospices Across Scotland

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Children’s Hospices Across Scotland (CHAS) is a Scottish charity that provides free palliative care for children and young people with life-shortening conditions. It also supports families in homes, schools and hospitals.

What CHAS does
- Provides multidisciplinary care from doctors, nurses, social workers, play specialists and other professionals.
- Runs two children’s hospices: Rachel House in Kinross and Robin House in Balloch.
- Offers CHAS at Home, a home-care service that supports families across Scotland.
- Has a hospital-based palliative-care team in Glasgow and works with NHS partners to share staffing and expertise.

Key services and care
- End-of-life and short-break care at the hospices.
- Home care visits and support for families in their own homes.
- Care in hospitals, alongside NHS staff, to ensure coordinated support.

History and growth
- CHAS began in 1992 as the Children's Hospice Association Scotland and was renamed CHAS in 2017.
- The first hospice (Rachel House) opened after generous donations; the second (Robin House) opened in 2005 after ongoing fundraising.
- In 2019, CHAS opened Scotland’s first hospital-based children’s palliative-care team at the Royal Hospital for Children in Glasgow.

How it’s run and funded
- Chief Executive: Rami Okasha. Chairperson: Peta Hay.
- About 350 staff and 788 volunteers.
- In 2021/22, CHAS spent around £19.8 million on its activities.
- Funding comes mainly from public donations, with significant support from NHS health boards and local authorities (about £7 million from NHS boards and £0.7 million from local authorities).

Where CHAS operates
- Head office in Edinburgh.
- Two hospices: Rachel House (Kinross) and Robin House (Balloch).
- CHAS at Home hubs across Scotland, including Aberdeen and other locations.
- Offices in Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Kinross and Stepps.
- Owns the Ardoch estate (donated in 2021) run through a subsidiary.

Overall aim
CHAS provides high-quality, free, compassionate care for children with life-shortening conditions and support for their families, wherever they live in Scotland.