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Caroline James RGN, RSCN, Case Manager, Children’s Continuing Care, East Leeds Primary Care Trust In recent years there has been an increasing emphasis on long term care in the community and primary care settings (see for example Kirk 1999). Advances in technology have enhanced life expectancy and enable children with complex health needs to be cared for at home. If we expect children with complex needs to be cared for at home, there should be an expectation from the family/carers that there will be adequate support services available. Such services come from a variety of sources including: community children’s nursing (CCN) teams, paediatric outreach teams, health respite units, local authority respite services, children’s hospices, health visitors, private providers through continuing care funding, as well as medical support from acute trusts and primary care. Respite services are essential in care packages for these children and are an integral part of maintaining family wellbeing (Olsen and MaslinProthero 2001). |
