CARE FOR CHILDREN

Hospices all over South Africa had to deal with the increasing number of children being not only patients but also affected by family members diagnosed with a life threatening disease.
In order to compliment the process of palliative care, many hospices implemented creative programmes in order to deal with these increasing numbers and the dynamics which comes with rendering services to children, which include child protection issues and pain and symptom management in children.

These programmes include:

• Day Care centres where children before school going age are being accommodated. At the day care centres children receive nutritional, education, psycho Social and clinical interventions.
• Drop In Centres, where children at school going age could attend and receive interventions like a proper meal, assistance with school work, psycho social support and clinical interventions (Many of these children are heading households as well).
• IPU, A few of our hospices like Cotlands, Grahamstown, St Nicholas and Soweto hospice have got specialized IPU facilities for children.
• Support groups for children
• Home Based care, where children and their families receive palliative care interventions which include clinical, bereavement and Psycho Social support.

As some of these services to children include intense social and psychological intervention, it is essential that hospices work in close collaboration with other community resources, rendering services in these fields.
HPCA Staff members, Joan Marston, Annanda Bothma, Maraliza Robbertze and Sue Boucher, in collaboration with the Paediatric Sub Committee, render ongoing support to Hospices working with children.

Virtual Resource Centre for children's palliative care with regional resource clusters, and the piloting of a new curriculum in 3 countries including South Africa in order to deal with capacity Building within hospices in order to render quality care to children (On a Clinical, Psychological, Spiritual and Social level).

The new Textbook for Children's Palliative Care in Africa, edited by Dr Justin Amery with contributions from South African practitioners was launched by ICPCN recently. Full download available here.