New home palliative care programme for youth launched

A home palliative care programme tailored specifically to the needs of families and terminally ill children was officially launched onm Saturday.

The Star Pals (Paediatric Advanced Life Support) programme is a home care service with a specially-trained team that looks after children and young adults who are dying of cancer, as well as those who suffer from serious disabilities.

Besides its focus on children, what makes this different from other home care services, is the support given to families of the young patients.

Dr Chong Poh Heng, programme director of Star Pals, said the service arose from the recognition that children require dedicated palliative care.