Children's hospices: where do they fit?

Abstract

This article opens the debate about the position of children's hospices within the wider provision of care and support for disabled children and their families. The article will be of interest to policy makers and practitioners in the field of services to disabled children and young people. As voluntary organizations, children's hospices are relatively autonomous. This has implications for planning, access and equity of provision of the service. Currently there is no statutory mechanism for monitoring the welfare of individual children using children's hospices. There is often inadequate liaison between agencies planning and providing care and support for this group of children and this is particularly problematic for children approaching adulthood. Children's hospices have grown in the wake of the closure of long-stay hospitals and against a backdrop of inadequate provision for disabled children, especially for those with the most extensive needs. Future development within this sector needs to be planned much more closely with local health and social services providers. At the same time, the government should give greater recognition to the contribution of children's hospices and reflect this in the regulatory framework.