District President Weinmeister is committed to children's palliative care

District President Weinmeister is committed to children's palliative care

In an impressive journey through the everyday lives of families with the most serious illnesses, District President Mark Weinmeister accompanied the children's palliative care team of the “Little Giants of North Hesse” over two days. How nh24.de reports, Weinmeister gained a deep insight into the outpatient care of these families in their home environment. An important goal of this care is to maintain the quality of life of the affected children and to relieve the burden on their relatives.

Using a sensitive approach, Weinmeister wanted to find out how families manage to cope with the health challenge in their everyday lives. The touches and stories he heard moved him deeply and showed him the need for recognition and support of these extraordinary families.

Outpatient and specialized palliative care

The role of pediatricians and outpatient care services is very important when it comes to basic palliative care. This includes not only medical support services, but also relief from pain and other symptoms, such as healthy.bund.de explained. It is by no means an easy path - outpatient palliative care becomes particularly necessary when children's health deteriorates.

In addition, specialized outpatient palliative teams work, which consist of experienced pediatricians and pediatric nurses and can provide multi-professional emotional support. These teams specialize in supporting families in difficult situations when current care options are no longer sufficient. Access to these resources, including for those with statutory health insurance, is crucial to providing affected families the support they need.

The challenges in supply

But the supply landscape is changing. How dgpalliativmedizin.de explains, many seriously ill young people see their life situation as more acutely threatened after their 18th birthday, as children's hospitals are often no longer able to provide appropriate care and adult providers are often not attuned to the specific needs of young people.

At a time when standard care for seriously ill children and young people is increasingly at risk - due, among other things, to the closure of children's hospitals and a lack of successors for pediatricians - concern for the most vulnerable in our society is understandable. Measures such as the “Intensive Care and Rehabilitation Strengthening Act” could potentially endanger home care, making the commitment to family-friendly support models all the more important.

Weinmeister's commitment is a sign that the political and social responsibility to relieve the burden on families with seriously ill children must continue to be kept high. It is important to make the voices of these families heard and to ensure that their needs are not ignored in the future.

For many of the approximately 100,000 young people in Germany who are struggling with life-threatening illnesses, palliative care begins with the diagnosis and can last for years. Support through children's hospice work and comprehensive palliative care remains essential so that these children, their parents and siblings receive the support they need.