The Government has called upon the NHS to make improvements in the services it provides children.
The British Government has declared that children who are terminally ill should not be compelled to visit hospitals for specialist care. A guidance has been issued by the Department of Health which insists that individual needs must be catered to while providing treatment, which is inclusive of caring at home like nurse led services.It should also be ensured that an environment must be created wherein the sick child is as comfortable as possible. A Commons Health Committee report in 2004 revealed that 56% of the people who are terminally ill prefer to die at their homes, a right which most of them are denied.
Most families have called for treatment at home with regard to their terminally ill children, and the NHS is being called upon to make the necessary changes in the health services it provides. A guide to establishing a children's hospice has been launched by the Association of Children's Hospices (ACH), with the object of providing the best possible services to children who live under life-limiting conditions. The health needs of such children are complex, and they require long-term palliative care.
