Palliative Care for Children

Palliative care for children and young people is an active and total approach to care, embracing physical, emotional, social and spiritual elements.

It focuses on enhancements of quality of life for the child, and support for the family. This includes the management of distressing symptoms and provision of respite care through death and bereavement.

Palliative care also includes elements such as schooling and days out, facilitating happy memories and enabling children and young people to enjoy stimulating, rewarding experiences. Teams look to provide support throughout the difficult times, while stepping back during periods of stability. Palliative care is complex and multifaceted, requiring coordination between key workers from a broad range of specialities.

Caring for a child with a life limiting condition can be challenging, often with complex health needs. Palliative care support includes working with teams and families, helping with decision making and symptom management. In many cases, patients, families and professionals work together to produce an Advance Care Plan (ACP) or to support discussions around symptom control, resuscitation and other individual needs to create a personalised plan.

Further Resources

TFSL Logo.jpegTogether for Short Lives is the UK’s leading charity for Children’s Palliative Care. They seek to make sure that children with life limiting and life threatening conditions and their families can make the most of every moment they have together, whether that’s for years, months or only hours. Through their family support team and helpline, they provide families of seriously ill children with emotional, financial and practical support and advice. They champion and support palliative care professionals with training and resources, and work to influence policy making and government to secure more investment in children’s palliative care.

child bereavement uk logo.jpgChild Bereavement UK helps families to rebuild their lives when a child grieves or when a child dies. We support children and young people (up to the age of 25) when someone important to them has died or is not expected to live, and parents and the wider family when a baby or child of any age dies or is dying. We provide training to professionals in health and social care, education, the emergency services and the voluntary and corporate sectors, equipping them to provide the best possible care to bereaved families.

Hospices

Forget Me Not Childrens Hospice Telephone: 01484 411 040 Email: contact@forgetmenotchild.co.uk

Martin House Telephone: 01937 845045 Care email: care@martinhouse.org.uk General email: reception@martinhouse.org.uk