Children’s hospices
Children’s hospices offer respite and short breaks to families with a child or young person who has a life threatening or life limiting condition, this means that the child or young person is unlikely to survive into adulthood. The hospice also provides emergency symptom management, where distressing symptoms will be managed by experts in paediatric palliative care, as well as end of life care and bereavement support. Children and young people with a life limiting or life threatening condition, such as Cerebral Palsy, Muscular Dystrophy, cancer, leukaemia as well as some other rare conditions, are referred to the children’s hospice at time of diagnosis and will remain under the care of the hospice until death or transition to adult services.
The children’s hospice is often perceived as a sad place for those who have not visited, however, it is often a place of smiles and laughter while the expert health and social care staff work hard to make special memories for the short and precious lives of the children and young people under their care.
The skills you will learn at the hospice include communication, tube feeding, administration of medicines, symptom management, end of life
care among many, many more.
Community children’s nurses
Community children’s nurses are children’s nurses with qualifications or experience in the community setting. They work closely with children’s wards, health visitors, midwives and GP’s. They visit families in their own homes where children have extra health needs such as long-term conditions, disability or sometimes following an acute illness or surgery. Some community children’s nurses are focused on a speciality such as diabetes or oncology whilst others offer a more generic service. Community children’s nurses provide clinical care or supervise parents and families giving care. They provide ongoing support to the child and family, playing a key role in bringing together relevant local services to help families with continuing complex needs.