Child palliative care
We provide support to children and young people across Hunter New England with life-threatening or life-limiting illness.
About palliative care
The Paediatric Palliative Care Service at the John Hunter Children's Hospital provides support to children and young people from the Hunter New England district with a life-threatening or life-limiting illness.
We also provide education, advice and support to health care professionals providing care to our young patients.
The team
Our paediatric palliative care specialists can provide a range of care and support including:
- Specialist Paediatric Palliative Care Doctors
- Paediatric Fellow
- Clinical Nurse Consultants
- Senior Occupational Therapist
- Senior Social Worker
- Bereavement Co-ordinator
- Registered Music Therapist
- Aboriginal Health Worker
What we do
The paediatric palliative care service team will first need a referral from a medical practitioner, when we have the patient referral, the existing healthcare professionals will continue to be the primary health-care providers to the patient and family. We will meet with the patient, family and treating health-care professionals to learn more about the current and likely future issues. This meeting may involve a home visit.
Ongoing care from us may be:
- directly via home visits, out-patient clinics, phone or video calls
- as a consulting team if the patient is admitted to hospital
- indirectly via regular contact with local general practitioners, general and specialist paediatricians and adult palliative care services who provide care to the child or young person.
The level of support needed will be different between each patient and family or carer.
Our service can support a patient to be cared for at home at the end of life if that is what the patient, family and carers wish. If hospitalisation is needed, our service can help with the management of symptoms and transfer to a hospital ward setting.
Our service continues to provide bereavement support post death of a child known to Paediatric Palliative Care Team.