Rehabilitation service for children in palliative care and their family members will be available until the child turns 24

The Parliament has decided that from now on, the government-paid rehabilitation service for children in palliative care and their family members will be available until the child turns 24, and not 18, as it used to be previously.

Palliative care is needed by people with very different illnesses, from congenital, to metabolic, to organ pathologies, to tumours.

According to the head of the Palliative Care Service at the Children’s Clinical University Hospital Anda Jansone, this service includes 24-hour assistance, home visits, various consultations and psychological support.

Jansone said: ‘We know very well that adults don’t have access to palliative care on an out-patient basis at home. In the sense that there is simply no team of palliative care specialists that are familiar with the typical issues of such care. Our team has doctors, nurses, therapists and chaplains. It is critical that once the child turns 18, their family still remains among our clients. This means giving them a sense of safety.