Palliative care is an interdisciplinary medical caregiving approach aimed at optimizing quality of life and mitigating suffering among people with serious, complex, and often terminal illnesses. Within the published literature, many definitions of palliative care exist. The World Health Organization (WHO) describes palliative care as "an approach that improves the quality of life of patients and their families facing the problems associated with life-threatening illness, through the prevention and relief of suffering by means of early identification and impeccable assessment and treatment of pain, illnesses including other problems whether physical, psychosocial, and spiritual". In the past, palliative care was a disease specific approach, but today the WHO takes a broader patient-centered approach that suggests that the principles of palliative care should be applied as early as possible to any chronic and ultimately fatal illness. This shift was important because if a disease-oriented approach is followed, the needs and preferences of the patient are not fully met and aspects of care, such as pain, quality of life, and social support, as well as spiritual and emotional needs, fail to be addressed. Rather, a patient-centered model prioritizes relief of suffering and tailors care to increase the quality of life for terminally ill patients.
Marie Curie is a registered charitable organisation in the United Kingdom which provides hospice care and support for anyone with an illness they’re likely to die from, and those close to them, and campaigns for better support for dying people. It was established in 1948, the same year as the National Health Service (NHS).
A children's hospice is a hospice specifically designed to help children and young people who are not expected to reach adulthood with the emotional and physical challenges they face, and also to provide respite care for their families.
Sobell House Hospice is an Oxford-based hospice serving the residents of Oxfordshire, England affected by life-limiting illness.
Claire House Children's Hospice is a children's hospice in Merseyside.
Shooting Star Children's Hospices is an English children's hospice charity. The charity cares for babies, children and young people with life-limiting conditions, and their families, across Surrey, south-west London and north-west London. They provide specialist clinical and holistic care to families from diagnosis to end of life and throughout bereavement.
Demelza Hospice Care for Children, more commonly referred to as simply 'Demelza' is a Children's hospice and a registered charity based in Kent, England, delivering clinical care and emotional support to babies, children and young people facing serious or life-limiting conditions, throughout Kent, South-East London and East Sussex. The charity is named after Demelza Phillips, who inspired the creation of the first hospice in Sittingbourne in 1998 Demelza continues to be dedicated to reaching more children and families who need support across the South East of England.
Johanniter-Unfall-Hilfe e.V., commonly referred to as Die Johanniter, is a voluntary humanitarian organisation affiliated with the Brandenburg Bailiwick of the Order of St John, the German Protestant descendant of the Knights Hospitaller. The organisation was founded in 1952 in Hanover under the leadership of Rudolf Christoph Freiherr von Gersdorff. One of the main reasons for its creation was the rise in injuries and deaths from road traffic accidents. JUH participates in international aid efforts together with its sister organisations in other countries as part of the Johanniter International partnership; it also works with the German Malteser Hilfsdienst, affiliated to the Catholic Sovereign Military Order of Malta. As of 2017 the organisation had 37,000 active volunteers and youth members and around 1,300,000 registered members.
Acorns Children's Hospice Trust is a registered charity, offering a network of palliative care and support to life-limited and life-threatened children and their families across the West Midlands region and part of South West England. Acorns has three hospices, situated in Birmingham, Walsall and Worcester as well as a community team that offer support to families in their homes. The catchment area for the Hospices comprises the counties of Warwickshire, Worcestershire, Herefordshire, Gloucestershire as well as parts of Staffordshire, Shropshire, and the West Midlands.
Rainbows the East Midlands Children’s Hospice is a registered charity in England, Number 1014051. The charity provides palliative care and support for children, young people, and their families, when faced with life-limiting conditions.
The Hanseatic School for Life is a non-profit organization in Thailand that cares for children and adolescents in need. The Hanseatic School for Life pursues an educational concept on the basis of the "situational approach", which UNESCO classified as a "... much needed world-class innovative effort in the field of education" and a "new standard of educational excellence for the world community of the 21st century". Through family-like living and project-oriented learning, the children and adolescents gain skills which can give their life a positive direction. The intellectual father of the situational approach is the Berlin educationalist Prof. em. Dr. Jürgen Zimmer, who founded the International Academy for Innovative Pedagogy, Psychology and Economics gGmbH (INA) at the Free University Berlin.
Helen & Douglas House is a registered hospice charity based in Oxford, England, providing palliative, respite, end-of-life and bereavement care to life-limited children and their families.
Children’s Hospices Across Scotland (CHAS) is a registered charity that provides the country's only hospice services for children and young people with life-shortening conditions, and services across children’s homes and hospitals. The first hospice was built thanks to the late editor-in chief of the Daily Record and Sunday Mail, Endell Laird, who launched a reader appeal which raised £4million. CHAS offers children’s hospice services, free of charge, to every child, young person and their families who needs and wants them.
Swim Across America Inc., (SAA) is a nonprofit dedicated to raising money and awareness for cancer research, prevention, and treatment. It does so by hosting charity swims and donating the proceeds to a hospital. Since its founding, SAA has granted over $100 million to fund cancer research and clinical trials. More than 100,000 donations a year are made to support participants in Swim Across America charity swims to meet their fundraising goals. The proceeds from SAA charity swims are granted to fund cancer research at world-renowned hospitals such as Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and Johns Hopkins.
Naomi House and Jacksplace are the hospices for children and young people in the Wessex region. The hospices are located at Sutton Scotney, near Winchester, Hampshire, England. It is also known as The Wessex Children's Hospice Trust, (No.1002832). Naomi House and Jacksplace provide care to more than 300 children and young people with life-limiting and life-threatening conditions. The care and support that Naomi House offers is claimed to be unique in central southern England. They offer respite care, emergency support, a hospice at home service, end of life care and family support.
Bluebell Wood Children's Hospice is a children's hospice run as registered charity offering palliative care and support to families who have a child or young person with a shortened life expectancy and complex medical needs. Bluebell Wood provides support to the whole family, both at their hospice in Rotherham, and in families' own homes.
The Society for the Promotion of Hospice Care (SPHC) is a non-profit NGO that advocates and provides hospice and palliative care services in Hong Kong, China. It also conducts end-of-life research, education, and training.
Together for Short Lives is the UK registered charity for children's palliative care. Together for Short Lives’ vision is for children and young people in the UK with life-limiting and life-threatening conditions and their families to have as fulfilling lives as possible, and the best care at the end of life.
Zoe's Place Baby Hospice, operating as Zoe’s Place Trust, is a United Kingdom based registered charity founded by Professor Jack Scarisbrick in 1995. It provides palliative and respite care for very or terminally ill babies and children up to five years old.
Caritas Austria is an Austrian social aid organisation of the Roman Catholic Church, founded in 1903. It consists of a national office and nine regional diocesan Caritas organisations, all of which are legally independent.
