This week marks the fifth anniversary of a vital service, which cares for seriously ill children in the north-east.
Children’s Hospice Association Scotland At Home, the only organisation of its kind in Scotland, was first launched in the region in 2011.
From its Aberdeen base, the service has assisted more than 80 families across the area.
It runs in parallel with two hospices, Rachel House in Kinross and Robin House in Balloch, Loch Lomond.
Last night, the charity’s chief executive said the service allowed parents the choice in how they wanted their child to be cared for.
Maria McGill, who was appointed to her role just a year before CHAS At Home launched, said: “We’re really delighted that the service has worked out in the way we thought it might.
“We wanted to make sure that every family that needed the services we offer had access.
“This allows us to take the hospice outside and into families’ homes and that is important.”
There are currently close to 15,500 children and teenagers living with “lift-shortening” illnesses in Scotland.
Last year, Chas cared for 72 children who died as a result of a terminal condition – that’s from an average of 195 who die annually.
The charity, which has similar services in Inverness, Kinross and Balloch, offers hands-on care as well as respite for parents, often looking after siblings or helping with household tasks like cleaning or dog-walking.
It also offers emotional support to parents and other family members.
Ms McGill added that the nurses who made home visits were often the only people parents could turn to if they needed someone to look after their child.
She said: “We have a mixture of experienced nurses and recently-qualified staff too – many know they want to work in this field, so they get experience elsewhere before coming here.
“Families often tell us that we are the only people they would leave their children with and trust us to care for them properly.
“It’s really important for families who come to Rachel House and Robin House to know they have this service to rely on when they are in between visits to give them some respite at home.
“I don’t think it’s the location so much as what’s right for the family at the time, it’s about giving them the freedom to choose.”
CASH INJECTION
Last month, the Scottish Government announced Chas would receive a cash injection of £30million during the next five years.
The funding has been made available because the number of children and youngsters living with “life-shortening” conditions has surged by 50% in the past decade.
Ms McGill said the announcement was “incredibly exciting” for the charity.
She added: “We can begin to think about all of these children living with life-shortening conditions and how we can now reach them and their families.
“It’s an incredibly exciting announcement for us, it means we have security and can fund sustainable services and build on previous research.”
Last year, the charity commissioned the Children in Scotland requiring Palliative Care (Chisp) study.
This found that the number of children and young people living with terminal conditions, 15,404, was much higher than had previously been estimated.
Ms McGill added: “This funding matches what the Scottish public produce, together with Chas, and that’s a fantastic partnership.
“It’s really important to acknowledge that the research that’s been published by the Scottish Government tells us about the increased need across Scotland.
“We will work with the government and individual health boards, including NHS Grampian, to work out what the needs of children and families are, and how we might be able to meet them in the future.”
