Frequently Asked Questions: Wishes
Once we have received a completed application, we will be reaching out to the named medical professional to get the medical form completed. Upon receipt of the medical form, your child’s application will be taken to our general meeting to be reviewed and determine eligibility. Should your child’s wish be approved, you will receive a confirmation email with a link to complete our wish request form. Should your child not meet our criteria, you will be sent an email explaining our decision.
Once approved, your child’s wish will be allocated to a Wish Granter to work on. This process can take up to 3 weeks depending on how quickly we receive the wish requests form back. The granter will work with you to discuss your child’s wishes and get the wish booked as soon as possible. The exact time will be dependent on the wish type, availability and medical sign-off (if required).
We can only accept completed applications that have been done by a Parent or Guardian. We cannot accept applications completed by the child themselves or a medical professional. We can only accept referrals from medical professionals, In order for an application to be accepted, we require the parent or guardian to agree to the terms and conditions as laid out in the application. Failure to do so will result in us having to decline the application.
As part of the application process, we will need to contact your child’s medical professional to confirm eligibility for our services. This should be the consultant or clinical nurse specialist leading in your child’s care. We can accept completed forms by the child’s GP, but only if they are actively involved in your child’s care and can confirm they are qualified to do so.
Due to the high volume of applications we receive, we would ask you to provide as much information as possible, such as a correct email address and/or phone number. This prevents delays when asking consultants to complete the medical form in support of your child’s application.
We ask that completed applications must be received before the child’s 18th birthday to be considered for a wish.
You should receive an automated message from us once you have successfully completed our referral or application form. Due to the high volume of enquiries we recieve, we ask that you only contact us if you don’t receive an automated email.
Our social media regularly showcases our wishes, but you can also take a look at our website and our wish stories page.
No, we encourage you to refer as many patients as you wish. We would ask that you look at our criteria first before applying or give us a call on 020 8782 1171 and speak to a member of the wish team if unsure the child would qualify.
Family members living in the same household as the wish child will be considered to attend the wish. This includes parents/guardians and siblings only. If there is a sibling aged 18+ who would like to go on the wish, we will need to see proof of residency, i.e. utility bill. Any sibling aged 21 years old and over would not be included and would need to make their own arrangements.
In order to be eligible for an international travel wish, we ask that the child be aged 4 years old and over. All other wishes have no restrictions but must meet our age criteria to qualify.
You can apply for a wish at your own discretion. Once we have determined your child is eligible for a wish, we prefer that they be involved in deciding what wishes they would like. Rays of Sunshine is all about being child-focused.
You can apply for a wish at your own discretion. Once we have determined your child is eligible for a wish, we prefer that they be involved in deciding what wishes they would like. Rays of Sunshine is all about being child-focused.
There are no restrictions around when you can apply for a wish. However, we ask that you only apply for your child’s wish when you are ready to take it. We cannot keep wishes open indefinitely and aim to grant all wishes within a 12-month period (exceptions will apply).
We ask that you only apply for your child’s wish when you are ready to take it. We do appreciate that there may be occasions outside your control that may impact when the wish takes place. We can therefore make an exception based on changes to the medical condition of a child or family member approved to take part.
All approved family members taking part in the wish will be covered by our comprehensive insurance policy.
Sadly not, we do not part fund wishes and cannot accept requests to pay towards trips already booked independently.
Every wish application is reviewed by our team against our medical criteria, which is available on our website. In order to do this, we use the information provided to us by you and your child’s medical professional during the application process. We understand that medical conditions can impact everyone differently and for that reason, each application is assessed thoroughly and fairly on an individual level, based on the information we have available to us. For that reason, our application forms are designed to collect as much information as possible on your child’s condition.
If your child’s wish has been declined and you would like to appeal the decision, please email wishes@raysofsunshine.org.uk. We would ask that you put in writing why you feel your child would meet our criteria and submit recent clinic letters in support. Please note, you can only appeal a decision once. We cannot guarantee the decision will be reversed but will assess the new information alongside our medical advisors.
