A new organisation, Together for Short Lives, is launched today, providing a powerful voice for life-limited and life-threatened children and young people, their families and those who provide them with support.
Together for Short Lives is the new name for ACT & Children’s Hospices UK, which merged in October. Our vision is for all children and young people unlikely to reach adulthood and their families to have the best possible care and support in the place of their choice.
Together for Short Lives brings together, for the first time, all those involved in children’s palliative care, from the children and families themselves to the professionals and organisations who provide the full range of care and support.
Commenting on the launch of the new organisation, Barbara Gelb, Chief Executive said:
“We are delighted that this new organisation has formed at such a critical time for life-limited children, young people and their families. With so much change taking place in health and social care across the UK, we are ideally placed to provide a strong and consistent voice for children and families and support the very best in care practice across the sector.
“Our name and new brand reflects our purpose and our values. We are all about supporting children and families to make the very most of life. And we know we can only do this by working together: with families, with professionals and with providers. We are so excited by the potential of Together for Short Lives to make a lasting difference to children’s palliative care across the UK”.
There are an estimated 23,500 children and young people in the UK who are unlikely to reach adulthood. Together for Short Lives is here to ensure that every single child gets the best possible care and support from the moment of diagnosis, wherever they live and for as long as they need it. We want to ensure that every family has the information they need to make choices about the care of their child and that they have a voice in shaping the services they use. We will raise awareness of the needs of affected children, young people and their families and support the development of the children's palliative care services on which they rely for day-to-day care and support.
Lizzie Chambers, Deputy Chief Executive
