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The Development of a National Paediatric Psycho-Oncology Service

C Besani1,2,3, A Dunne1,2,3, S D'Arcy-Bewick2

  • 1National Children's Cancer Service, Children's Health Ireland at Crumlin.

Irish Medical Journal
|September 14, 2021
PubMed

Insights

Psychological care for children with cancer in Ireland

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Oncology
  • Psycho-oncology
  • Healthcare Services Research

Background:

  • The National Children's Cancer Service (NCCS) in Ireland aims to provide comprehensive care.
  • International standards emphasize the importance of psychological support for pediatric cancer patients and families.
  • Assessing current psychological service provision against these standards is crucial for identifying gaps.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the psychological care provided to children and adolescents with cancer and their families at the NCCS.
  • To compare the NCCS's psychological services against national and international standards of care.

Main Methods:

  • A retrospective audit of 316 referrals to the psychology service within malignant haematology and oncology at the NCCS.
  • Data collected over a 32-month period (January 2013 to August 2016).

Main Results:

  • An average of 189 (50%) urgently referred patients received psychological support annually.
  • Only 22% of patients undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) and 22% referred to palliative care received psychological input.
  • 62% of teenage patients received psychological input during the audit period.

Conclusions:

  • The current psychology service provision at the NCCS falls short of international standards of care.
  • Secured funding for a principal psychologist post based on audit data and risk assessment.
  • Further posts (HSCT, late-effects, neuropsychology) and model of care development are needed for equitable, evidence-based psychological care.

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