Introduction to children’s palliative care

Children’s palliative care is about promoting the best possible quality of life and care for every child with a life-limiting or life-threatening condition and their family. Giving families real choice has been key to this approach: a choice of place of care; a choice of place of death; and a choice of emotional and bereavement support.

What is children’s palliative care?

Palliative care for children and young people is an active and total approach to care, from the point of diagnosis, throughout the child’s life, death and beyond. It embraces physical, emotional, social and spiritual elements and focuses on the enhancement of quality of life for the child or young person and support for the whole family. It includes the management of distressing symptoms, provision of short breaks, care at the end of life and bereavement support.

Palliative care can be introduced at any point throughout a child’s life; it is completely individual. Some children may require palliative care from birth; others only as their condition deteriorates. Families may also vary as to whether they wish to pursue treatments aimed to cure or significantly prolong life. In practice, palliative care should be offered from diagnosis of a life-shortening condition or from recognition that curative treatment for a life-threatening condition is not an option. However, each situation is different and care should be tailored to the child.

Children’s palliative care provides expert support to children who are likely to have short lives, when and where they need it – making magic moments possible.

Because every childhood needs magic, no matter how short it might be.