Services for terminally ill children vary depending on where the child lives, according to a report published today.
A Palliative Care Needs Assessment for Children, commissioned by the Department of Health and the Irish Hospice Foundation and carried out by UCD academics, also found that available services could vary depending on diagnosis.
Irish Hospice Foundation CEO Eugene Murray
There are three hospitals in the Dublin area catering specifically for children, and although the recent provision of "shared-care" arrangements between one of these hospitals and a hospital in the vicinity of the child's home were welcomed, the report stated that the fact that all three hospitals were based in the capital remained "an ongoing issue".
Irish Hospice Foundation CEO Eugene Murray said the home is the preferred place of care and death for a child but that parents are struggling to provide such care with limited access to services and equipment and hidden financial costs.
"Being cared for at home diminishes feelings of fear, isolation and helplessness for children while it enables the parents to feel that they have done all they possibly could for their child," he added.
"The Irish Hospice Foundation supports the report's recommendation that home care support initiatives and community based care should be developed as a matter of priority."
The report called for more comprehensive data on children with life-limiting conditions. There is no system in place to collect accurate figures on the prevalence of children living with such illnesses, and the report states that this information is "vital for service planning at a local and national level".
Unveiling the report this morning, Tánaiste Mary Harney said it "represented the first step in the development of a nationwide cohesive and equitable palliative care service specifically for children and adolescents".
The development of Ireland's first hospice for dying children is currently under way in Dublin. The Sunshine Home Project will cost more than €6 million to develop, with funds coming from both the Government and private investors, and it is due for completion in 2007.