How We Help

Working with Health Professionals and Policy Makers

Since it's foundation in 1970, CHI has worked collaboratively with health professionals and policy makers to promote the welfare of all sick children by drawing attention to their special needs for emotional security.

Prior to the establishment of the organisation, the delivery of hospital care for children was very bleak with parents being excluded from being with their child. Even when "visiting hours" existed, parents were encouraged not to visit because their children would be "upset" after the visit.

However, during the 1970s, CHI (then known as the Association for the Welfare of Children in Hospital Ireland - AWCHI) worked tirelessly to have this regime changed. A pilot project in the National Children's Hospital, Harcourt St, scrutinised by Dr Mervyn Taylor, demonstrated that hospitalised children did better and had fewer re-admissions if their parents were able to stay with them in the hospital.

Since that time, CHI has continued to work constructively with all health professionals and with policy makers and has campaigned for the development of quality, family-centred care for sick and hospitalised children.

Extensive expertise and experience has been amassed by the organisation and is now available to policy makers and planners in the Department of Health and Children and the Health Services Executive. CHI provides practical information and good practice guidance to personnel in hospitals around the country.

CHI periodically conducts specific research projects, compiles reports and makes recommendations based on the findings. For a full list of these please see the CHI Publications.

CHI offers a number of education programmes. In addition to the Children in Hospital Ireland Annual Public Lecture, the organisation, on request,offers lectures and talks to Medical and Nursing personnel, Allied Health Professionals, Parents and Carers groups and to childcare practitioners.

The lectures are are rights-based and cover wide-ranging issues relating to the care of children in hospital.

Topics covered include:

• the emotional needs of hospitalised children
• the experience of being the parent of a hospitalised child
• the development of the provision of play in hospitals
• guidelines and standards for the care of children in hospital.

Copies of presentations of Annual Public Lectures are available from info@childreninhospital.ie

CHI presents papers and conducts workshops at conferences and seminars nationally and internationally.

The organisation  advocates on behalf of parents and their hospitalised children, actively participates in consultation processes and regularly makes submissions to relevant authorities on issues relating to the delivery and development of health services for sick children. To access copies of these submissions follow this link CHI Advocacy

If you would like more detail on the above information, please contact the CHI office to speak to the relevant person: Locall-1890 25 26 82, ceo@childreninhospital.ie