Who are we?

We provide short breaks for children and young people with a range of learning disabilities and complex health needs in their own homes.

Care is delivered by children’s support workers and nursery nurses, who have bespoke training for each of the children they visit to make sure that the quality of the care they deliver is of high standard and safe. Child support workers and nursery nurses provide totally hands-on clinical care and play activities as required, following the child’s usual routine during the sessions.

We work in partnership with families to make sure sessions are individualised and meet the needs of the child and their family.

The team will reflect on practice and monitor the effectiveness of the service. Comments are welcome to further develop our short break services for children and their families.

Who do we support?

We support children up to five years old, living in east Kent, who:

• complex health need, for example seizures, artificial feeding Naso Gastric or gastrostomy
• life-limiting or life-threatening illness, for example cancer, cystic fibrosis, muscular dystrophy, Hunter’s syndrome or Wolf Hirschorn syndrome
• physical disability or global developmental delay and an additional health need, for example severe cerebral palsy and epilepsy, Trisomy 21 and artificial feeding
• complex chronic condition, for example spina bifida, Retts syndrome, Hurschprung’s disease.

When is the service available?

The service is available Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm. The sessions are usually three hours.

Referrals

Referrals to the service can be made by a qualified healthcare professional or parent.

On receiving the referral the team will arrange a visit to come and assess the child for their eligibility.

Please contact the team for a copy of the referral form or download it from our website.