ICPCN’s Vision

To live in a world where children’s palliative care is acknowledged and respected as a unique service, and every child and young person with life-limiting or life-threatening conditions and their families can receive the best quality of life and care regardless of which country they live in.

The International Children’s Palliative Care Network (ICPCN) shares a vision that the total needs of life-threatened or life-limited children should be met to encompass physical, emotional, spiritual and developmental aspects of care.

 

ICPCN’s Mission

Our mission is to achieve the best quality of life and care for children and young people with life-limiting conditions, their families and carers worldwide, by raising awareness of children’s palliative care, lobbying for the global development of children’s palliative care services, and sharing expertise, skills and knowledge.

ICPCN’s Aims

1. To help services across the world to develop and meet the total care and support needs of life-limited children and their families.

2. To advocate and raise awareness of children’s palliative care and the specific needs of life-limited or life-threatened children and their families.

3. To develop a strong ICPCN membership from children’s palliative care services across the globe.
   
4. To facilitate communication and sharing of resources, information and research worldwide, and to provide a  ‘one stop shop’ for information relating to children’s palliative care.

5. To campaign for the global development of children’s palliative care services.

6. To enable the sharing of expertise and information between children’s palliative care practitioners.

7. To increase the international evidence base for children’s palliative care.

8. To maximise ICPCN’s resources by developing its fundraising activities in order to discharge its mission.

Structure of ICPCN

ICPCN is a network of organisations and individuals working in children’s palliative care from all over the world.

ICPCN is managed by an International Steering Group, which represents all continents. 

Day to day administration and co-ordination is provided by the national UK charity ACT (Association of Children’s Palliative Care). ACT manages the ICPCN dedicated website: www.icpcn.org

The ICPCN Steering Group meets quarterly to agree strategy and manage the ICPCN workplan.  It is chaired by Joan Marston, Paediatric Palliative Care Manager for the Hospice  Palliative Care Association of South Africa.  ICPCN has joint Vice Chairs: Lizzie Chambers ( UK) Chief Executive of ACT and Barbara Gelb (UK), Chief Executive of ACH.

The ICPCN Steering Group has an independent Observer, Avril Jackson from the Hospice Information service in the UK and an administrator Claire Morris, from Help the Hospices in the UK.
ICPCN is a membership organisation.  Membership is free and you can join as an organisation or individual.  Anyone who either works in or has an interest in children’s palliative care can join ICPCN, all we ask is for you to sign up to ICPCN’s vision, aims, objectives and strategy.  Members do not have voting rights.

ICPCN members can register with ICPCN’s International Directory, join the ICPCN international discussion forum and post news, events or research abstracts on the ICPCN website, and join the campaign to ensure the voices of children with life-limiting or life-threatening conditions are heard, respected and acknowledged through the world.

To find out more about ICPCN visit the ICPCN website.