Palliative Care

The service provides nursing care, support and advice to empower children and young people and their families to be at the centre of their care and make informed decisions about their care and treatment. The service supports children and families throughout the palliative care journey from diagnosis to after death support.

Nurses provide direct contact and clinical care to individual children in the community setting. This care is primarily at home, but can include schools, respite facilities and social organisations. Nurses provide specialist advice and support to families regarding symptom control, nursing issues, care issues, emotional support and training in care needs or nursing needs.

Advice, support and training is also available to other professionals, voluntary organisations, schools, respite providers and carers to meet individual child’s needs to promote the child’s integration and quality of life.

Conditions in scope

We provide care and support for children and young people who have:

• Life-limiting conditions for which curative treatment may be feasible, but can fail;
• Conditions with long periods of intensive treatment aimed at prolonging life and allowing participation in normal childhood activities
• Progressive conditions without curative treatment options where treatment is exclusively palliative which may extend over several years and
• Conditions with severe neurological disabilities which cause weakness and make the patient susceptible to health complications which may deteriorate unpredictably

What is the process?