Referral Criteria – Palliative Care

The ICS Palliative Care service provides a responsive and high standard of nursing care and support for children, young people with life limiting and life threatening conditions across Devon.

Conditions in scope

Children accessing the palliative care team must have a diagnosis which meets one of the national criteria below:

  • Group 1 – Life-limiting conditions for which curative treatment may be feasible but can fail (cancer, irreversible organ failures)
  • Group 2 – Conditions with long term periods of intensive treatment aimed at prolonging life and allowing participation in normal childhood activities, but premature death and/or disability Is expected (cystic fibrosis, muscular dystrophy, epilepsy).
  • Group 3 – Progressive conditions without curative treatment options, where treatment is exclusively palliative and may commonly extend over many years. (Batten’s disease, mucopolysaccharidosis)
  • Group 4 – Conditions with severe neurological disability which may cause weakness and susceptibility to health complications, and may deteriorate unpredictably, but are not usually considered progressive. (Severe multiple disabilities, such as brain or spinal cord injuries.

In addition to this:

  • The child must be age 0-18 years
  • The child must have a Devon GP

Palliative care referrals are treated as urgent and are screened by the team as soon as received

Contacts

Children and Family Health Devon
Single Point of Access Team
1a Capital Court
Bittern Road
Sowton Industrial Estate
Exeter EX2 7FW

t: 0330 0245 321

Useful documents

Request for Service Form