Accessing respite care for children with life-limiting conditions ‘challenging’

THE level of access to respite care for children with cancer and other life-limiting conditions and their families is being determined by their age, diagnosis, prognosis and where they live, a new report reveals.

While children with cancer could access some respite services, families of children with other conditions, or without a definitive diagnosis, might find accessing respite services particularly challenging.

There are around 1,400 children in Ireland living with life-limiting conditions and about 350 child deaths each year — the majority in the first year of life.