IRELAND’S only children’s hospice, the LauraLynn House in Leopardstown, has launched a new service that will take their expertise into the home.
The official launch of the LauraLynn@Home programme took place during Children’s Hospice Week, which has been celebrated at LauraLynn all week before culminating in this exciting new direction for the charity.
The new service will bring all of the expertise and care that children currently receive at LauraLynn into the family home on a 12-month trial basis.
LauraLynn@Home will provide hands-on care in the home, provided by a team of dedicated LauraLynn nurses and health care assistants.
This will include respite, transitional, crisis and end-of-life care. The only difference to the current model of care available at LauraLynn will be that families can have the option of receiving this care in their own home.
The LauraLynn@Home Pilot Programme will be available in South County Dublin as part of the HSE Dublin Mid-Leinster region that also takes in Kildare, Wicklow, Westmeath, Laois, Offaly, and Longford.
It will also be available to the HSE Dublin North-East region covering Louth, Meath, Cavan, Monaghan, and North County Dublin.
LauraLynn estimate that approximately 50 families will avail of this service during the trial period. The pilot project will run for one year at an estimated cost of e800,000.
All of the money for this additional service has come from publicly donated funds, with the majority raised from the recent Half Million Half Marathon event organised by Ray D’Arcy and Today FM.
Julie Ling, Head of Strategic Development at LauraLynn, is in charge of coordinating the LauraLynn@Home pilot and overseeing its roll out.
“Parents are often the main providers of care for children with life-limiting conditions,
? she said.
“National and international evidence suggests that the majority of parents, where possible, wish to care for their child at home with the appropriate supports.
“LauraLynn@Home will work with colleagues in the community and aims to provide families with more choices.
“Our aim is to provide the same high standard of care, regardless of whether the child is cared for in LauraLynn House or in the child’s own home.
?
She added:
“We would welcome any family in either of the two pilot areas who would like to apply for the LauraLynn@Home service to contact us at any stage to discuss.
?
Jane McKenna, mother of Laura and Lynn, was at the Children’s Hospice Week celebrations for the announcement.
“In the short few years that LauraLynn has been open it is amazing that we can now offer this crucial service in the home,
? she said.
“For parents who find themselves in the difficult situation of requiring end-of-life care, choices are important. We can now offer families options.
“It is our hope and belief that this new service will eventually bridge the gap for hundreds of families who require the support of LauraLynn but who want to have their child at home.
?
In order to be eligible for the LauraLynn@Home pilot project, children must meet the standard admission criteria for LauraLynn, Ireland’s Children’s Hospice which can be found on the website lauralynn.ie or email home@lauralynn.ie for further information.