Crisis in paediatric palliative care highlighted

Radio New Zealand have drawn attention to the failure to provide comprehensive palliative care for children in Aotearoa. They quote the Children's Commissioner, Dr Claire Achmad, as saying "The current situation is untenable, inequitable and inadequate."

The piece cites our recent paper published in the New Zealand Medical Journal, highlighting the inequities in access to palliative care for tāmariki across the country. Health Minister Simeon Brown is recorded as saying that “there was a review of a national paediatric palliative care service ongoing, and that he was aware children and their families could experience different levels of access to paediatric palliative care across the country.”

We are hoping to secure funding to do more research in this area, and also have findings pending from studies led by Dr Gemma Aburn.

The outlook is choppy for paediatric palliative care services in Aotearoa, photo by Merryn Gott of Long Bay.