Helping Children Cope with Serious Illness

Facing a loved one's medical crisis is an immense challenge, especially for children and teenagers. To provide crucial support, the end-of-life care committee has launched a new 20-page booklet titled ‘Supporting Children and Teenagers, when someone they love is seriously ill or dying"

Designed for parents, guardians, and caregivers, the guide offers age-appropriate strategies for helping our young visitors navigate the emotional realities of  hospitalisation and end-of-life care. It covers preparing children for hospital visits, discussing difficult diagnoses, managing grief, and more. 

"As a hospital, we recognise the profound impact that medical crises have on entire families," says Deirdre Ryan, Chair of the End-of-life care committee. Nurses, patient advocacy colleagues and the national end of life survey have highlighted the need to provide this level of emotional support for parents and caregivers.

Providing such a resource highlights that across all age groups, we need to help children process their emotions, ensuring they feel heard, understood, and supported during this difficult time. This booklet equips adults with the tools to have these challenging conversations and support a child's emotional needs.

When someone is seriously ill, children are often left feeling scared and powerless, our hope is that we can help provide a roadmap for providing the comfort, validation, and information young people need during perhaps the most difficult experiences they may face. Booklets will be delivered to each ward and can be accessed from IHUB or by emailing Rebecca.Lloyd@hse.ie. Thank you to UL Hospital Group Compassionate New Resource, written by Rebecca Lloyd End of life care coordinator, with support from Sheila Bowers, Catriona Kiely, and Niamh Quinn.

Acute Virtual Ward update

Virtual Ward Hub in UHL went live on July 1st 2024.  The virtual ward is a safe and effective alternative to bedded care within the acute hospital setting that is enabled by technology. The service allows patients to receive hospital level care monitoring and treatment in the comfort of their own homes reducing the need for inpatient hospital stays. This includes either preventing avoidable admissions into hospital or supporting early discharge out of hospital. The model of care is particularly suited to patients who are medically improving but who still require ongoing acute care before discharge from the hospital.

Currently two pathways of care are operational Respiratory and Cardiology, under the clinical governance of Dr Umar Khan Respiratory Consultant and Dr Neasa Starr Consultant Cardiologist, supported by ANP’s, CNS’s and nursing staff in the virtual ward. Partnered with Doccla, a UK based technology company, patients are equipped with a remote monitoring kit and a Sim Enabled tablet which supports the sending of health data to the dedicated Virtual ward team. Observations are tailored to patient needs and include temperature, blood oxygen levels, pulse, blood pressure, spirometry, ECG and weight monitoring, with alerts if there’s a deterioration in their condition enabling them to be attended to immediately. 

The model of care supports a holistic approach to delivering safe and efficient care to patients.