St Luke’s has hosted the fourth in a series of specialist transition events designed to support children, young people and their families as they move from paediatric to adult palliative care services.
The latest event took place on Friday 31 October at St Luke’s Ecclesall Road South site – a non-clinical, relaxed space chosen to help ease what can be a daunting change.
Launched a year ago by St Luke’s in collaboration with Bluebell Wood Children’s Hospice, Sheffield Children’s Hospital and the Transition team at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals, the events aim to address the evolving needs of young people with complex palliative conditions as they enter adulthood.
Families of anyone aged 16 and upwards into their early 20s, who are approaching or currently experiencing the transition to adult services, are invited to join the events.
At each event, families are invited to try social prescribing activities such as craft sessions, take guided tours of the hospice to help them familiarise themselves with the environment and services, and hear talks explaining the differences between children’s and adult hospice care.
Staff from St Luke’s, Bluebell Wood, Sheffield Children’s Hospital and Sheffield Teaching Hospital’s Transition team are also on hand throughout to answer any questions, and the sessions also give families the chance to meet others who are going through the same experience.
Helen Smith, St Luke’s Nurse Consultant and the hospice’s lead for transitions, helped to establish the series last year.
“In recent years, there has been a big push for adult hospices to step up and be more actively involved in the transition process between children’s and adult services,” she explained.
“Young people’s palliative care needs are increasingly complex, and many are now living much longer, into their teens and early 20s, due to advances in treatment and technology. As an adult hospice, we must respond to this.”
“It’s all about meeting the patients, and their families, and getting to know their personal choices and individual wishes. For some, the transition to a new adult service may seem scary, while for others – who may be young adults in their early 20s, married with children - a children’s hospice is no longer the right fit.”
“Many people can feel frightened that it’s just a one-way path. But these events are designed to take away the fear, provide reassurance, and give people space to talk openly. Giving children and young people the chance to familiarise themselves with a new environment in advance is vital - to ease that perception of what it is like.”
“It’s also a chance to address some misconceptions around adult hospices; offering a reminder that we do not only deal with cancer, and in fact that we are equipped to deal with a wide array of complex needs.”
“I’m incredibly proud of this joint venture, and the progress being made together for young people in Sheffield.
St Luke’s plans to continue hosting transition events each quarter and in addition is preparing to host its first ‘Transition Simulations Training Day’ on Friday 21 November.
The event, the first of its kind in the UK, will be a hands-on training event for professionals working with young people with complex needs, giving them the chance to simulate real scenarios and enhance practice.