ACT - The Association for Children's Palliative Care

The 2007 edition of a children’s palliative care symptom control manual has been launched and is now ready to download at the ACT website, free of charge. The manual, Basic Symptom Control in Paediatric Palliative Care: the Rainbows Children’s Hospice Guidelines, now in its seventh year, and used by doctors and nurses throughout the world, is the only resource which provides comprehensive guidelines for treating a wide range of symptoms experienced by children with life-limiting or complex health conditions.

As well as being an “industry bible” for professionals, the manual has also been prepared for the use of parents who are caring for a terminally ill child. Basic Symptom Control in Paediatric Palliative Care: the Rainbows Children’s Hospice Guidelines, has been written by Dr Satbir Singh Jassal, GP and Medical Director at Rainbows Children’s Hospice, and is a collaboration from 27 leading paediatric and palliative care contributors from around the world.

ACT has found out that the new Child Death Review Process – due to be implemented from 1 April 2008 will have far-reaching implications for the families that we support. We want to ensure that all ACT members and practitioners within children’s palliative care are aware of the changes, and have had an opportunity to ensure their local Child Death Overview Panels are aware of local children's palliative care services and the nature of the end of life care and post-bereavement care before the review becomes operational.

A major review of the way the NHS delivers patient care is underway. Overseen by Lord Darzi, the review wants to hear the opinions of everyone with an interest in building a better health service.

A new website has been launched to capture views and pose questions to Lord Darzi. Patients, staff and the public are all invited to contribute.

John Bercow MP has been asked by the Government to carry out an independent review of services for children and young people with speech, language and communications needs.

The review's call for evidence was launched on 16 October and will run to 18 January 2008. School staff, students and parents are invited to contribute via the DCSF website. ACT will be submitting a response to this.

Katrina McNamara-Goodger, the Head of Policy and Practice at ACT has been named as a finalist in the Child Health category in the prestigious Nursing Times Awards.

The awards aim to recognise the achievements of nurses and the contribution they make to health care across the UK. Katrina has worked with ACT, the national charity which represents children with life-limiting or life-threatening conditions and their families, since 2004 and has been acknowledged for her work on the ACT Transition Care Pathway project.