“On their second visit Michael loved it, he had ‘great craic’ with the other boys and the staff and Mary enjoyed the break too and they couldn’t wait until their next stay came around. Mary says that this too was a great opportunity for Michael to meet with other young people with similar needs to his own and help him to feel ‘less different.”
Advances in medicine and modern treatments mean that many children who are born with, or develop a life-limiting condition can expect to live into adulthood. Transition Care deals with the movement of young people from paediatric to adult services. This part of the website aims to inform parents and young people about this move.
Young people and their families have described the transition from paediatric to adult services as ‘daunting’. They are often leaving trusted long standing relationships with health care professionals in children’s services and facing the challenge of making new relationships with adult health services.
Transition to adult services can be challenging in a number of ways;
Work is ongoing to facilitate continuous and coordinated services during this transition process.
Good transition planning focuses on each individual young person’s needs, goals and ambitions and involves the young person, their parents, their school, their family doctor, health professionals and any other person or organisation with a relevant contribution.
Practical preparation for transition may include
Written by Dr. Hannah Linane
Noyes J, Rees S, Hastings R, Mason H, Hain R, Lidstone V. Bridging the Gap: Transition from Children’s to Adult Palliative Care. 2014.
