7 May 2025
It will lead research, education and training into this sensitive topic both nationally and internationally
A new Centre of Excellence which will set new standards globally for paediatric palliative care research and education is to be established at the Cicely Saunders Institute at King's College London, led by Professor Lorna Fraser and funded by Kentown Support.
Kentown Support is a new independent charity with the goal of improving the provision of community palliative care for children and families across the UK. It supports education, training and research to enable healthcare professionals to deliver best practice in children’s palliative care.
This Centre of Excellence will undertake and disseminate high quality research and provide evidenced-based education and training for health and social care professionals and family members caring for children and young people with life-limiting conditions. The centre will inform policy and drive innovations in care delivery and organisation to enable all children and young people to have access to the care they require, including palliative care, when and where they need it.
The Centre will provide capacity building in a neglected field, and set the standard globally for high quality research, education and care.
The number of children living with life-limiting or life-threatening conditions in England is projected to rise from 86,000 to 121,000 by 2030. There is a higher prevalence of life-limiting conditions in children from minoritised ethnic populations and areas of higher deprivation.
Although advances in medicine have enabled these children to survive for longer, the healthcare system has not advanced at the same rate, and families are often let unsupported due to inconsistent provision of palliative care for children. As part of the new centre of excellence, Kentown Support – a charity dedicated to supporting seriously ill children and their families – will offer funding to two PhD students looking to conduct research in this area of study.
One of the key tenets of the centre will be patient and public involvement (PPI), ensuring that any policy impact or research outputs are undertaken with the input of children and parents with experience of paediatric palliative care.
Children with life limiting conditions and their families deserve to be able to access high quality care when and where they need it. This is an huge opportunity to increase the evidence base on how to ensure equitable access to evidence based care for all children, provide education and training for families and build research capacity within the sector. I am really pleased that Dr Dunbar and the Kentown Support Board share our vision and are funding this important initiative.
– Professor Lorna Fraser, Professor of Palliative Care at King's College London
Children and families affected by life-limiting conditions should be able to rely on getting the best healthcare, support and coordinated care in their communities. Too often, however, this is not the reality. The new centre of excellence at King’s College London is an exciting step forward. It will help establish strong research foundations to inform and underpin Kentown Support’s mission to transform children’s palliative care across the UK. We are very excited to be working with the team at King's.
– Dr Helena Dunbar, CEO of Kentown Support