A comprehensive approach to supporting and enhancing the quality of life for children while providing much-needed support for their caregivers and loved ones.
Pediatric palliative care encompasses a wide range of medical services tailored specifically to meet the needs of children and young people, including those facing life-limiting conditions. At its core, it’s about providing holistic support to children and their families, not just physically, but also psychologically, socially, spiritually, and culturally.
It’s about quality of life.
Pediatric palliative care supports children and families from the time of diagnosis through to end-of-life care and bereavement. Palliative care does not abandon hope but instead enhances the quality of life for the child while managing their symptoms and providing family support.
Pediatric palliative care teams tailor care plans according to each child’s evolving
needs, collaborating with families to coordinate home visits, and medical, nursing, and therapeutic services. The multidisciplinary teams include professionals from various disciplines, including medicine, nursing, social work, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, and play therapy.
Better together.
The Pediatric palliative care team’s goal is to empower families to care for their children at home whenever possible. This may involve everything from offering respite care to making school visits to enable continued education to supporting hospital-based care when families are unable to provide care at home.
The palliative care team can:
When can children access palliative care?
Children can be referred to pediatric palliative care at any stage of their illness. Palliative care referrals should be considered early in a child’s diagnosis since many childhood diseases are unpredictable. This gives families as much time as possible to make informed decisions and plan for their child’s care, giving them the best possible care for their individual needs.
The resources you and your child need
It’s vital that you discuss pediatric palliative care with your child’s healthcare provider if you believe it may benefit them. Palliative care services typically require medical referrals, whether they are provided by general practitioners or pediatricians. Initiating this conversation will enable families to get access to a wealth of resources and support to help them manage the complexities of caring for a child with a life-limiting condition.
Pediatric palliative care is vital to supporting children with life-limiting conditions and their families. As a holistic approach to care, it emphasises collaboration between healthcare providers and families to enhance the quality of life for children as well as provide much-needed support to their caregivers.
See here for information: https://www.iamliving.org.au/talks/pediatric-palliative-care/
Palliative Care Australia: palliativecare.org.au