Around 320 children die in Ireland every year as a result of a life-limiting condition and while there have been big developments in the area of palliative care for young people, much more still needs to be done, a conference on children's palliative care has heard.

Experts in this field from both Ireland and abroad attended the country's first major conference on children's palliative care in Dublin at the weekend. Currently in Ireland, some 1,400 children are living with a life-limiting or life-threatening condition.

Speaking at the conference, Dr Patrick Carragher, medical director of the Children's Hospice Association Scotland, emphasised that Ireland must ensure that all children receive the best possible palliative care ‘regardless of their geographical location and their diagnosis'.

"Palliative care should be more than just symptom management and should include provision of respite and care of the child and family from diagnosis through to death and bereavement. The ultimate goal is to ensure that all children live and die well," he said.

The conference was told that the area of palliative care in this country has seen ‘vast improvements' in recent years, for example as a result of the appointment of Dr Mary Devins, a consultant paediatrician with a special interest in paediatric palliative medicines, and the appointment of eight outreach nurses.

"But we still face a number of challenges in the area, such as funding, expanding the workforce and integration between voluntary and state sectors," explained Dr Maeve O'Reilly, a consultant in palliative care medicine at Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children in Crumlin.

The two-day conference was jointly organised by a number of care providers including the Jack and Jill Foundation, the Irish Association for Palliative Care and the LauraLynn Children's Hospice.

"A key output from the conference is the importance of working together with all children's palliative care providers and this event has given us the opportunity to hear from the experts, and the area of children's palliative care can only benefit from that. Linking home, hospital and hospice is the only way to ensure families receive the best care possible," commented conference chairperson, Julie Ling, of the LauraLynn Children's Hospice.