PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 1ST JUNE 2019

Press contact: Helen Surgeon – helen@butterflyhospice.org – +44 (0)1392 670945

Butterfly Children’s Hospices announce new partnerships and events for Children’s Palliative Care services in China.

• Butterfly Children’s hospice are entering a new phase of expansion in training, advocacy and support for children’s palliative care in China
• Partnerships are announced with hospitals in Changsha and Shanghai
• Educational programme updates and national conference announced

Changsha, Hunan –  Butterfly Children’s Hospices have announced new partnerships with hospitals and orphanages in Changsha and Shanghai to train and support holistic palliative care services for children. It is estimated that there are 21million children worldwide who are in need of palliative care, and 4.5million of those children are in China. The charity have provided loving care and treatment for over 200 children with life-limiting conditions and life-threatening illnesses since they began in 2006, as well as advising the Chinese government on health care policy and paediatric palliative care standards. 

Their greater vision, however, reaches beyond the individual care that their Homes can provide. The charity aims to become a beacon for children’s palliative care services, leading by example to raise standards and awareness across China. CEO Lyn Gould explains: “When Alan and I started the Butterfly Home, our aim was not just to care for abandoned children, but to work on keeping families and children together. In recent months we have taken a big step toward realising that ambition. We are focusing on consultancy, training, education and advocacy at government level.”

At the Hunan Provincial Children’s Hospital, BCH Director of Professional Services Molin Lin runs a weekly clinic supporting parents to provide palliative care. This is the first nurse-led clinic of its kind in China. Ms Lin also attends the Grand Rounds of the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit. In Shanghai, BCH representatives are in talks with two community hospitals about future cooperation. One of these hospitals, Ling Fen, has been doing pioneering work in adult palliative care under the leadership of Dr Shi Yong Xin. 

BCH will soon release details of the 5th National Conference on children’s palliative care in China. The conference brings together experts and practitioners in the field for mutual exchange, support and learning. As part of the charity’s educational outreach work, Ms Lin gave a lecture on children’s palliative care to student nurses in Hunan. In the coming months she will lecture in Guangzhou and Xizhizhuang, and deliver training to 30 nurses from the Changsha Tumour Hospital.

“It seems momentum is growing for the development of children’s palliative care services in China,” says Lyn Gould. “The thirst for knowledge and commitment to providing care for children with life challenging situations – often in very difficult environments – are very evident. It is a privileged position to be trusted to pioneer and speak out on such a sensitive and largely hidden issue.”

ENDS

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About Butterfly Children’s Hospices:

At Butterfly Children’s Hospices we provide loving care and treatment for children with life-limiting conditions and life-threatening illnesses. We have a children’s hospice in Changsha, and have supported other projects with specialist nursing care and advice for children who have palliative care needs, including those with complex illnesses and at end of life. Some children have been abandoned, others are brought to us when families can no longer face the journey alone. But no matter how small or how sick, we give each child the love, care and medical attention they need.

Charity Mission Statement: That all children are afforded dignity and love in life and death.

Notes for editors:

• Charity Co-founder and CEO, Lyn Gould, serves as an honorary member of the board of China Care for Life Association, the national body for palliative care in China.

• As well as in person training, BCH have translated education and training materials into Chinese, produced the first educational video on paediatric palliative care in Chinese and are working closely with the International Children’s Palliative Care Network (ICPCN) to develop online courses and training materials in Mandarin.

• BCH have organised and hosted four national conferences in China; the third was attended by HRH Princess Anne and the fourth was organised and hosted with the Chinese Association for Life Care (CALC).

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