Vast gaps in care nationwide

It is essential that seriously ill children and their whānau receive palliative care services from specialists trained to meet their specific physical and psychological needs.

With paediatric palliative care, families have the choice to care for their child at home, supported by experts in pain and symptom management.

Without this choice, children with serious illnesses face long hospital stays away from their siblings, friends and school. Children and their whānau may experience unnecessary distress at end of life.

New Zealand is an outlier internationally in having no nationwide funded specialist service.

That’s despite an estimated 3,000 babies and children needing palliative care each year, with about 350 of them at end of life.

Only 25% of children who need specialist palliative care in Aotearoa can access it; they are cared for at Starship Hopsital in Auckland. 75% of children who need this service go without.

Every child and their whānau should be able to access this kind of care, regardless of where they live. We’re asking the Government to commit to funding this vital service nationwide.

We believe that each of the four Health NZ regions should have their own:

1. Specialist paediatric palliative care doctor

2. Senior paediatric palliative care nurses

3. Specialist allied health workers (social work, psychology, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, play therapy)

4. Māori adviser

5. Education co-ordinator

Palliative patients must be able to access specialist care where they live. They may be too sick to transport, or prefer to be care for and die at home. This is why a regional approach is so important.

A specialist palliative care service based around the four Health NZ regions would cost $8 million annually. It is modelled to reduce hospital utilisation and and decrease overall health spend by $22 million per year.

Contact us at hello@reikotuku.org.nz to learn about how you can support our advocacy for a nationwide funded paediatric palliative care service.