Alexander Devine was an incredibly brave little boy whom, at the age of just four-years-old, was diagnosed with a rare brain tumour. He and his family soldiered on for four years before Alexander sadly lost his battle in 2006 at the age of eight.

Fiona and John Devine, Alexander’s parents, discovered during Alexander’s journey that there was a pressing need for greater community support for families in the area where one or more of the children has a life-limiting or life-threatening condition.

The charity was created in 2007, initially to fund a Community Care Team that would provide specialist respite, palliative and end-of-life care in homes across Berkshire, South Buckinghamshire, and even further into the bordering counties. After obtaining approval from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in 2014, Alexander Devine Children’s Hospice Service was able to take direct referrals, and the Care Team grew to a team of eight Alexander’s Nurses, Carers and Play Specialists.

It was a 40 mile journey for the Devine family to their nearest children’s hospice, and so Fiona and John’s ultimate dream was to build a local purpose-built children’s hospice; a “home-from-home” that would give families much greater choice and flexibility in the care that they received.

In 2015, two of the charity’s patrons, Sir Michael Parkinson and The Right Honourable Theresa May MP, broke ground on a six acre plot of land in Maidenhead, that was generously donated by a local landowner. The build was completed in 2017, and the hospice opened its Day Care facilities and welcomed the first families in 2018. In-patient and respite care services are planned for later this year.

Alexander Devine Children’s Hospice Service currently provides support in the community to over 110 families, and continues to raise vital funds to ensure these services can be available for all families that need their support, now and in the coming years.