Who we are

OUR HISTORY

CHaL started as an informal group of London children’s hospice chief executives meeting on a regular basis to share knowledge, discuss issues and look for collective solutions and areas for joint working.

It quickly became clear that working together more formally would give us the opportunity to make our resources go further. This would mean that we could achieve more and help more children with life-limiting and life-threatening conditions. CHaL was established as a charity in 2012, and we’ve subsequently grown to cover all children’s hospice care in London and some of the surrounding areas.

OUR STRUCTURE

CHaL has a diverse board with extensive experience across the charity sector. The board meets regularly to discuss mutually important issues, compare ways of working and ensure that our shared resources are deployed efficiently for the benefit of the children and families that we support.

Our Trustees

Ralph Coulbeck

Chief Executive, Haven House Children’s Hospice

Ralph Coulbeck

Chief Executive, Haven House Children’s Hospice
Ralph came to Haven House following 20 years working in the National Health Service in strategy, policy and operational roles. His most recent experience was as Group Director of Strategy for Barts Health and as Chief Executive at Whipps Cross hospital in East London.

Paul Richards

Chief Executive, Richard House Children’s Hospice

Paul Richards

Chief Executive, Richard House Children’s Hospice
Paul became Chief Executive of Richard House in November 2024 after a 30 year career in social care. Previous roles include COO Healthcare at Europ Assistance UK, Executive Director at Carewatch Group and Deputy Chairman at Demelza.

Paul Farthing

Chief Executive, Shooting Star Children’s Hospices

Paul Farthing

Chief Executive, Shooting Star Children’s Hospices
Paul joined Shooting Star Children’s Hospices in September 2021 as Chief Executive, bringing 25 years of extensive leadership experience in both the charity and commercial sectors. Most recently Paul was Director of Income Generation and Communications at The Children’s Trust. Previously he was Managing Director at a charity-specialist marketing communications agency, became High Value Relationships Director at Cancer Research UK and then Director of Fundraising at both Age UK and NSPCC.

Sophie Andrews OBE

Chief Executive Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospice and CHaL Chair

Sophie Andrews OBE

Chief Executive Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospice and CHaL Chair
Sophie Andrews OBE joined Noah’s Ark as Chief Executive in 2020. Prior to that Sophie was Chief Executive of The Silver Line since its inception in 2012, co-founding the national charity with Dame Esther Rantzen. In 2017 she was awarded an OBE in the New Year’s Honours list in recognition of her contribution. Before that she was Deputy Chief Executive of the Wave Trust, having previously been Head of Volunteering at the NSPCC.

Lavinia Jarrett

Chief Executive, Demelza

Lavinia Jarrett

Chief Executive, Demelza
Lavinia has worked at Demelza since 1999 and has been part of helping the organisation grow and develop its services over the past 17 years and has been instrumental in developing a culture that strives for excellence and puts children and families at the centre of decision making. Prior to joining Demelza, Lavinia worked in primary care, developing local outreach services for both proactive and reactive healthcare needs and commissioning services from NHS Trusts and providers that best met the needs of local patients.
About Us
The Care We Offer
Our Hospices