“A wife who loses a husband is called a widow. A husband who loses a wife is called a widower. A child who loses his parents is called an orphan. There is no word for a parent who loses a child. That’s how awful the loss is.”
― Jay Neugeboren, An Orphan's Tale
Outside of hospitals, there are currently no dedicated terminal or specialist palliative care beds for children in Cape Town. St Luke’s, Cape Town’s oldest and most established hospice, cares predominantly for adults. Children’s hospices such as Themba Care and Cotlands that were established in the HIV/AIDS era have since closed their units following the success of anti-retroviral therapy. Although facilities such as St Joseph’s Children’s home, Nazareth House and Sarah Fox Convalescent hospital care for chronically ill children with palliative care needs, children are still sent back to hospitals when they are dying. Iris House, a newly established hospice in Stikland provides excellent respite services, mostly in the form of day care and community based support but has no specialist palliative care services.
Although hospitals do what they can to provide quality and compassionate end of life care, it is not the main goal of acute care facilities to care for the dying. The presence of dying children in hospital wards also impacts negatively on families whose children are expected to recover or undergo elective surgical procedures.
It is with this need in mind that Paedspal Cape Town, a newly established NGO, has approached the Departments of Health and Public works to lease 69 Liesbeeck road for use as a children’s hospice and palliative care unit. The intention is to be able to provide a 10 bed palliative care unit with the capacity to care for children with unrelieved pain and other distressing symptoms or requiring terminal care.
The situation of the building in close proximity to the Red Cross War Memorial Hospital is ideal as most referrals are likely to come from this hospital, although children referred from any of Cape Town’s hospitals will be accommodated. In addition, the church-like architecture of the building, its small garden and peaceful setting make it perfect for use as a hospice.
The building has been standing vacant for a number of months now and has become a security risk for the local community as it is being occupied and vandalized by vagrants. Paedspal is currently waiting for due process to be followed as the Provincial Departments of Health and Public Works comply with regulations required for the disposal of public assets. This is necessary before the building can be leased by any interested NGO or other party. We believe this can take anywhere from 2 months to a year.
If you would like to endorse the establishment of this much needed facility at this address please assist us by signing your name, providing your professional/organisational affiliation (if relevant), contact no and comment (if desired). Separate letters of support are also welcome.
Should you have any further questions please do not hesitate to contact us.
Dr Michelle Meiring
Programme Manager
Cell: 082 408 7102
Mrs Fiona McLennan
Programme administrator
Cell: 072 732 3250
Updates
October 4, 2015
Five hundred people have signed on to demand dignity for dying children. The bureaucrats at the health department have ignored our calls for long enough but they cannot ignore this growing wall of pressure.
October 2, 2015
One hundred people have spoken up but the bureaucrats at the health department are still ignoring the blatant lack of palliative care for our dying children. Getting these signatures is only the start because we are not letting them sweep this crisis under the rug.
Reached 500 supporters
October 2, 2015
Reached 100 supporters
September 29, 2015
September 29, 2015
The bureaucrats at the health department are still ignoring us while children die in sterile hospital wards. We need to hit five hundred signatures immediately to force them to look at the reality at Liesbeeck Road. Send this link to anyone who refuses to accept that our dying children deserve a better place.
366 Comments
The thought of children dying in wards, amongst those expected to recover, is very distressing. There is a huge need for a palliative care service and facility for young children as St. Luke's only takes in children over 11 years of age.
As I sit with my mum in the last hours of her life in a hospice. I know that she has had the most professional, compassionate care which is allowing her to die with her loved ones around her with dignity and grace.
This building has been a place of joy and security to many children in the past (my own siblings attended daycare here) - it is only fitting that it should be so again, especially for these children in need of care and love in their final days
NICD-REACH-UCT. Project coordinator. We are working with paediatrics and every so now and then we have terminally sick child who needs palliative care and referral sources are either full or long waiting periods which then negatively impacts the continuity of care for that child.
Emeritus associate professor, School of Child and Adolescent Health, University of Cape Town. A palliative care unit for children is urgently needed in Cape Town and this site is ideally situated near the Children’s Hospital
Wishing you success in this venture!
Children are a vulnerable group that need the unity of the community to be taken care of. We are that community
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“A wife who loses a husband is called a widow. A husband who loses a wife is called a widower. A child who loses his parents is called an orphan. There is no word for a parent who loses a child. That’s how awful the loss is.”
― Jay Neugeboren, An Orphan's Tale
Outside of hospitals, there are currently no dedicated terminal or specialist palliative care beds for children in Cape Town. St Luke’s, Cape Town’s oldest and most established hospice, cares predominantly for adults. Children’s hospices such as Themba Care and Cotlands that were established in the HIV/AIDS era have since closed their units following the success of anti-retroviral therapy. Although facilities such as St Joseph’s Children’s home, Nazareth House and Sarah Fox Convalescent hospital care for chronically ill children with palliative care needs, children are still sent back to hospitals when they are dying. Iris House, a newly established hospice in Stikland provides excellent respite services, mostly in the form of day care and community based support but has no specialist palliative care services.
Although hospitals do what they can to provide quality and compassionate end of life care, it is not the main goal of acute care facilities to care for the dying. The presence of dying children in hospital wards also impacts negatively on families whose children are expected to recover or undergo elective surgical procedures.
It is with this need in mind that Paedspal Cape Town, a newly established NGO, has approached the Departments of Health and Public works to lease 69 Liesbeeck road for use as a children’s hospice and palliative care unit. The intention is to be able to provide a 10 bed palliative care unit with the capacity to care for children with unrelieved pain and other distressing symptoms or requiring terminal care.
The situation of the building in close proximity to the Red Cross War Memorial Hospital is ideal as most referrals are likely to come from this hospital, although children referred from any of Cape Town’s hospitals will be accommodated. In addition, the church-like architecture of the building, its small garden and peaceful setting make it perfect for use as a hospice.
The building has been standing vacant for a number of months now and has become a security risk for the local community as it is being occupied and vandalized by vagrants. Paedspal is currently waiting for due process to be followed as the Provincial Departments of Health and Public Works comply with regulations required for the disposal of public assets. This is necessary before the building can be leased by any interested NGO or other party. We believe this can take anywhere from 2 months to a year.
If you would like to endorse the establishment of this much needed facility at this address please assist us by signing your name, providing your professional/organisational affiliation (if relevant), contact no and comment (if desired). Separate letters of support are also welcome.
Should you have any further questions please do not hesitate to contact us.
Dr Michelle Meiring
Programme Manager
Cell: 082 408 7102
Mrs Fiona McLennan
Programme administrator
Cell: 072 732 3250
Updates
October 4, 2015
Five hundred people have signed on to demand dignity for dying children. The bureaucrats at the health department have ignored our calls for long enough but they cannot ignore this growing wall of pressure.
October 2, 2015
One hundred people have spoken up but the bureaucrats at the health department are still ignoring the blatant lack of palliative care for our dying children. Getting these signatures is only the start because we are not letting them sweep this crisis under the rug.
Reached 500 supporters
October 2, 2015
Reached 100 supporters
September 29, 2015
September 29, 2015
The bureaucrats at the health department are still ignoring us while children die in sterile hospital wards. We need to hit five hundred signatures immediately to force them to look at the reality at Liesbeeck Road. Send this link to anyone who refuses to accept that our dying children deserve a better place.
366 Comments
Palliative care is a truly intricate field that, if lumped together with rest of health care, it may cause more problems than relief for the child, their family and the health professionals. Paedspal will fill a niche that was left vacant for far too long.
The thought of children dying in wards, amongst those expected to recover, is very distressing. There is a huge need for a palliative care service and facility for young children as St. Luke's only takes in children over 11 years of age.
As I sit with my mum in the last hours of her life in a hospice. I know that she has had the most professional, compassionate care which is allowing her to die with her loved ones around her with dignity and grace.
This building has been a place of joy and security to many children in the past (my own siblings attended daycare here) - it is only fitting that it should be so again, especially for these children in need of care and love in their final days
NICD-REACH-UCT. Project coordinator. We are working with paediatrics and every so now and then we have terminally sick child who needs palliative care and referral sources are either full or long waiting periods which then negatively impacts the continuity of care for that child.
Emeritus associate professor, School of Child and Adolescent Health, University of Cape Town. A palliative care unit for children is urgently needed in Cape Town and this site is ideally situated near the Children’s Hospital
Wishing you success in this venture!
Children are a vulnerable group that need the unity of the community to be taken care of. We are that community
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Palliative care is a truly intricate field that, if lumped together with rest of health care, it may cause more problems than relief for the child, their family and the health professionals. Paedspal will fill a niche that was left vacant for far too long.