More palliative care and hospice services for kids

By Marian SAMPSON

FOR parents who have lost a child and the parents of desperately ill children, hospice and palliative care services are vital.

Now children with life limiting conditions and their families will benefit from a $16 million funding boost to enhance paediatric palliative care respite and hospice services.

NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet said the new services will complement those already provided by

Bear Cottage in Manly and at the children’s hospitals in Sydney and Newcastle.

“I am absolutely committed to ensuring we improve the quality of life of these kids and their families, whether the care is being provided at home, in a hospital or a hospice,” Mr Perrottet said.

The additional enhancement brings the total funding for palliative care from the NSW Liberal and Nationals Government to more than $2.2 billion over the next five years.

Paediatric palliative care aims to improve the quality of life of children with a life-limiting illness as they head towards the end of life.

It can include the prevention and relief from pain and other symptoms.

Health Minister Brad Hazzard said those caring for children with life limiting conditions face the most challenging situation imaginable and need our every support.

“Families often choose to care for their loved ones at home but many children have complex medical and nursing needs which make that task difficult,” Mr Hazzard said.

“By further enhancing paediatric palliative and end of life care services, we are giving more families support and access to the care they need in a homelike environment.”