Finella Craig - Paediatric Nurse
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Helping You Cope With Death
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By Finella Craig
30 March
Finella Craig - paediatric palliative care nurse at Great Ormond Street Hospital - has been helping children with life-limiting diseases and their families for the past two years. Finella gives Eulogy a snapshot of the work she does.
‘In paediatric palliative care we tend to look after children on a long-term basis. Some might be very well and will use our services for many years.
Our job is to support children, young people and their families. We try to empower families so that they have some degree of control over their lives. We help them decide what treatments they should have and where they receive treatment. We let them know what their choices are; a lot of care will take place at home, but it is important that families also have access to hospice and hospital care and support when they want it.
An average day consists primarily of home visits. Some of the children we see might be very ill and others are relatively well. They may need adjustments to their medication to improve how they feel and function on a day-to-day basis. We also offer to visit the schools of the child and the siblings, so that we can explain the situation to teachers and staff, as well as how they can help support the child and their family. Sometimes it is easy to overlook the impact that having a seriously ill brother or sister can have on a child.
For all of the team it is emotionally draining. We’re meeting families who are often facing their worst-case scenario. Even though we know a child may die, it is still very hard when this happens.
Over the years we get to know the child and the family very well, so to lose contact when the child dies can be very difficult. If the family wants us to, we will also visit the child's school and the sibling's school. We discuss how to provide support for the siblings and how to talk to other children about the death. We’re in the process of developing our bereavement service so we can provide more structured support for as long as families need.
After a child dies we offer follow up visits. We maintain contact for up to two years. Different families want different things – some will want to see us; some don’t. Often, it depends on how long we’ve known them.
The better you know the family the harder it often is when a child dies. But you have to get up the next day and do your best for the next family. As paediatric palliative care is such a new field we don’t know how long people manage to do this job for, or the long-term effects on professionals.’
Finella Craig - Paediatric Nurse
"Sometimes it is easy to overlook the impact that having a seriously ill brother or sister can have on a child"
"The better you know the family the harder it often is when a child dies. But you have to get up the next day and do your best for the next family"
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