Rainbows has welcomed a colleague from an Australian children’s hospice to share knowledge, experience and best practice in caring for babies, children and young people with serious and life-shortening conditions.
Julia McAlpine, General Manager of Clinical Services from Very Special Kids in Victoria, Australia visited our hospice as part of a UK visit to learn from children’s hospices and explore different approaches to children’s palliative and end-of-life care.
During the visit, our teams shared experiences of delivering specialist care, including Rainbows’ nurse-led approach and how our services have developed beyond the hospice itself to support families in hospitals, at home and in their communities across the East Midlands.
The visit was also an opportunity to discuss quality, governance and continuous improvement – areas recognised when Rainbows became the first children’s hospice in England to be rated Outstanding by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) across all five areas of inspection.
The CQC praised our culture of openness, learning and continuous improvement, alongside the high-quality, person-centred care provided by our teams.
Julie Taylor, Executive Nurse and Director of Clinical Operations at Rainbows, said: “Children’s palliative care is a specialist area, and there is so much we can learn from each other.
“Although Very Special Kids is on the other side of the world, we recognised many of the same opportunities and challenges. Sharing our experience and learning from theirs helps us all think differently about how we can continue to develop the very best care for children and their families.
“We are incredibly proud of our Outstanding CQC rating, but being outstanding also means continuing to learn, improve and share what we know. Visits like this are an important part of that.”
At Rainbows, sharing knowledge and developing expertise are an important part of our work. Alongside providing specialist care and support for babies, children and young people across the East Midlands, we provide education and training for healthcare professionals and work with universities, NHS services and other organisations to help advance children’s palliative care.
By learning from others – whether they are across the East Midlands or across the world – we can help improve care and support for children and families wherever they live.