The Balearic Islands will offer 24-hour pediatric palliative care at home starting October 1.

PalmThe Balearic Health Service (IB-Salut) will launch, from October 1, a new model of continued pediatric palliative care in the community, which will be operational 24 hours a day, every day of the year. The Regional Minister of Health, Manuela García, explained that this initiative aims to provide assistance to children and adolescents, and their families, with palliative care needs. In the Balearic Islands, it is expected that between 134 and 179 patients will require pediatric palliative care. The measure will allow those affected to receive continuous care from their referral teams and also spend as much time as possible at home, with maximum comfort and dignity until the end of their lives. Currently, the autonomous regions that offer continuous pediatric palliative care are Madrid, Catalonia, and Murcia.

This new model is notable for the fact that, in order to respond to situations outside of normal business hours in recent days, medical and nursing professionals on call will be transferred to in-person call centers to ensure close, specialized care. The specific objectives of this new model include providing comprehensive and continuous home care, establishing effective coordination between different levels of care, preventing potentially complex situations, ensuring continuity with the therapeutic plan established by referring professionals, reducing the number of avoidable admissions and visits to emergency departments, and offering training to professionals. It also aims to make it easier for those who wish to spend their final days at home with the support of the palliative care team.

In-person care

Specifically, ongoing palliative care is coordinated so that, from Monday to Friday, from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., in-person care will be provided at home and at the hospital by the Pediatric Palliative Care Unit (PPCU) at Son Espases University Hospital (a team consisting of doctors, nurses, a social worker, and a social worker). On the same days, but from 3:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., care will be provided by telephone by a nurse present at the hospital who can visit the patient's home and by a pediatrician providing telephone support. From 8:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m., follow-up will continue to be provided by a nurse and a pediatrician. On weekends and holidays, telephone support will be provided by a nurse and a pediatrician. In addition, during all telephone support hours, in-person home care can be provided, if necessary, in end-of-life situations. It is worth noting that the Pediatric Palliative Care Unit will provide telephone support to patients, families, and professionals in Menorca, Ibiza, and Formentera, at any time and day. In addition, dedicated professionals will be established on each island, who will coordinate with the Unit on an ongoing basis to monitor children and adolescents with palliative care needs.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), pediatric palliative care is the active total care of the body, mind, and spirit of the child or adolescent, and the provision of support to the family. It begins when a life-threatening illness is diagnosed and continues regardless of whether the patient receives specific treatment for the illness. It can begin prenatally and, in some cases, extend beyond the age of 18. It encompasses the entire course of the illness, generally from diagnosis to end-of-life care, and continues throughout the grieving process. The implementation of this new organizational model will be complemented by a training plan for all SAMU 061 professionals, emergency services, and pediatricians and nurses in the Pediatrics departments throughout the islands.