Vol. 549 No. 1
44 Mr. B. Hayes asked the Minister for Health and Children his views on whether it is necessary to provide a children's hospice to cater for children who are terminally ill and to provide specialist care for children in this situation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4125/02]
In October 2001, I had the great pleasure of launching the report of the national advisory committee on palliative care, thus completing a commitment made by this Government to formulate a national hospice plan. As part of its work, the national advisory committee sought submissions from and consulted with many groups on all aspects of palliative care including the particular needs of children. The national advisory com mittee was in contact with a committee that had been established under the auspices of the faculty of paediatrics to examine the future development of palliative care services for children and which had not concluded its work by the publication of the report.
While the report made a number of specific recommendations relating to palliative care it did not reach any firm conclusions in relation to the future development of children's services. It is generally accepted amongst those working in the field that a key requirement is the completion of a needs assessment. This would provide a firm indication of the extent to which current needs are being met as well as the extent of unmet need. I am glad to say that discussions between a number of groups, including my Department, on a needs assessment study are at an advanced stage and it is expected that this process will be significantly advanced in the next few weeks.
Pending completion of the needs assessment, my Department will continue to liaise with health boards and other groups on the orderly development of palliative care services for children. While I do not wish to pre-empt the outcome of the needs assessment I should point out that the current thinking both in Ireland and other countries would suggest that the provision of children's hospices is not the favoured option and that the demand is more likely to be for respite services for children with life shortening illnesses.
