Caring for a child with a life-limiting condition is one of the hardest journeys a family can face. Learning that your child has a condition with no cure is devastating, and it’s a time when families need care, support and information so they don’t feel isolated. In Ireland, a meaningful number of children are living with life-limiting conditions, and some of these children have palliative care needs that mean they are, at any given time, unstable, deteriorating, or approaching end-of-life and in immediate need of hospice care.
LauraLynn is the only children’s hospice in the Republic of Ireland, and its team cares for, supports, and helps families create memories to last a lifetime.
About LauraLynn, Ireland’s Children’s Hospice
LauraLynn is the only children’s hospice in the Republic of Ireland, providing palliative care to children with life-limiting conditions and their families from all across the country.
Their holistic approach to care enables them to support the whole family, allowing patients to be children and parents to be parents rather than full-time carers. Care can be availed of at their hospice in Dublin, in hospital, in the community, or in the family home, depending on the child and family’s preference.
The team cares for children with life-limiting conditions by providing planned short break stays in the hospice, symptom management, end-of-life care and bereavement supports, as well as a range of supports for families including play and music therapy, family camps and family activities.
All care provided by LauraLynn is free for families.
Their service focuses on enhancing quality of life, which includes physical comfort and wellbeing, as well as the emotional, social and spiritual aspects of care for the family — supporting them from the point of diagnosis right through to end of life, and throughout bereavement, with a range of nursing, practical, emotional and medical care.
Since opening in 2011, LauraLynn has cared for many hundreds of children and their families, and that number continues to grow every year.
What LauraLynn Offers Families
Many people think a children’s hospice is all about end-of-life care, but LauraLynn offers much more than that. Free services offered to families include:
- Planned and unplanned short break stays for the child and family – Planned short break stays can range from a couple of hours in the family home to several nights at LauraLynn House. Unplanned short break stays provide immediate placement for children in the event of an emergency within a family.
- Symptom management – Families may need support to manage changing symptoms, improving quality of life for the child and family.
- Family supports – Family support programmes allow families to be together as a unit, to have fun together, to meet other families in similar circumstances, and to be supported along their journey. Supports available to families include clinical psychology, chaplaincy, social work, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, music therapy and play therapy, therapeutic family work, and family camps.
- End-of-life care – The LauraLynn Care Team works with the child’s primary medical team and community services, including community palliative care, primary care, and the Children’s Outreach Nurses, to ensure the family’s wishes are met where possible.
- Bereavement support – LauraLynn assists families through their experience of loss, beginning at the point of acceptance to LauraLynn’s service, throughout the course of their child’s condition, around the time of the child’s death, and in the weeks, months and years that follow. There are services to support the entire family.
Through their caring and compassionate team, families are enabled to be happy together even on some of the saddest days. LauraLynn Children’s Hospice focuses on making the most of short and precious lives, and on creating memories to last a lifetime.
At LauraLynn, the team understands that the whole family is affected when there is a life-limited child in the household, so the whole family needs care and support. While they can’t give these children and families more time, they can give them more time together — having fun and making memories.
How To Get In Touch With and Support LauraLynn
If you need help or support as a family living with a child with a life-limiting condition, you can contact the LauraLynn team by phone, email, or through their website. Full contact details are available at www.lauralynn.ie/contact-us, or you can email the team at [info@lauralynn.ie](mailto:info@lauralynn.ie).
#### How You Can Support LauraLynn
LauraLynn relies heavily on fundraising each year to keep these vital services free for the families who need them. There are many ways you can help the hospice continue its work:
- Become a monthly donor – set up a direct debit.
- Give a donation – either online or by phone.
- Shop for gifts online in support of LauraLynn.
- Fundraise – take part in one of their events, or organise your own.
- Remember LauraLynn in your will and leave a lasting legacy.
Full details on how you can help are available on the LauraLynn website.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is LauraLynn?
LauraLynn is Ireland’s only children’s hospice, based in Dublin, providing palliative care and family support to children with life-limiting conditions from right across the country.
Is care from LauraLynn free?
Yes. All care provided by LauraLynn to families is free of charge, funded largely through public fundraising and donations.
Does LauraLynn only provide end-of-life care?
No. While end-of-life care is one part of their service, LauraLynn also offers short break stays, symptom management, family support programmes, play and music therapy, family camps, and bereavement support.
Where can families receive care from LauraLynn?
Care can be provided at LauraLynn House in Dublin, in hospital, in the community, or in the family’s own home, depending on what suits the child and family best.
How can I support LauraLynn?
You can support LauraLynn by becoming a monthly donor, making a one-off donation, shopping their online gifts, taking part in or organising a fundraising event, or remembering LauraLynn in your will. Full details are on the LauraLynn website.
Related Articles
If this story touched you, you might also like to read:
- Supporting Your Family Through Difficult Times
- How to Talk to Children About Illness and Loss
- Irish Charities Supporting Families Every Day
Before You Go
Know a family who might find comfort or support in LauraLynn’s services? Consider sharing this article — sometimes knowing where to turn makes all the difference.
Want more family life stories and useful supports like this delivered straight to your inbox? Sign up for the MyKidsTime newsletter for weekly ideas, articles and resources for Irish families.
