Charity leads change for children’s palliative care

A three-year strategy for providing palliative care to children has been launched by the UK children’s charity Together for Short Lives.

The charity has published its strategy for the next three years, which focuses on five key priority areas: providing information and advice to families; improving the quality of life and death for children and young people; strengthening the commissioning of services so provision is more sustainable; transforming transitions for young people; and increasing community engagement and volunteering in children’s palliative care.

Together for Short Lives says it has identified these priorities as they are the most complex and intractable issues facing children and families which cannot be wholly addressed by local services or professionals alone. The charity is striving for a UK approach to drive change and to bring together a whole range of agencies and individuals, including families, professionals, services and funders.

The strategy - Quality of life, quality of death: Leading change for children’s palliative care - aims to enable children, young people and their families in the UK to have as fulfilling lives as possible and the best care at the end of life.

The charity’s chief executive officer Barbara Gelb said: ‘It’s shocking that, in 2015, so many families caring for children and young people with life-limiting conditions still struggle to get the care and support they need. Although there are many excellent services helping them, these families still face very real challenges in accessing round the clock care and support.

‘Unless we change this, these challenges will only be exacerbated by further reductions in public spending and increasing numbers of children living longer with life-limiting conditions,’ she said.

‘Our new strategy aims to begin to make this change. It aims to support everyone working across children’s palliative care to change and develop to meet the complex and changing needs of children and families. We know that we can only deliver our ambitious strategy by working collaboratively with providers, professionals, national organisations and crucially, governments in all four UK nations, including the incoming Westminster government.

‘Only by working together will we achieve the co-ordinated, round the clock care and support that children and families need and deserve.’

Read the Together for Short Lives Three Year Strategy