Children’s nurses Lucy Andrews and Karen Higgins took a leap of faith when they left the NHS to set up a ‘nursing home from home’ for children with complex conditions

For decades, children’s nurses Lucy Andrews and Karen Higgins worked tirelessly in the NHS. During their careers their paths often crossed, including a period when they shared an office. They often discussed the problem of children and young people with complex conditions who were effectively growing up in hospital, even though they were medically stable. Either their care was too complex to be provided in the family home, or they were waiting for their homes to be adapted for their needs.