Transition and caring for young adults: Are you part of the solution?

This paper reviews discussions and draws conclusions from a seminar run by the Children's Hospice Association Scotland which focused on the challenges facing young adults with life-limiting conditions. It reflects on the significant developments in the care of life-limited children, the result of which is some living much longer that expected. Despite developments in policy and guidance available to health- and social-care professionals, many young adults and their families continue to report a lack of appropriate services when they move into the world of adult care. Some services such as physiotherapy stop and care become fragmented across many adult specialties. Traditional hospice care approaches to the care of this group were challenged by the view that young people with a disability should be treated in the same way as their peers. The risk of focusing on the life-limiting aspect of their condition reduces young adults' ability to make independent choices about their lives and to plan for the future, resulting in a poorer quality of life. Conclusions from the day were that despite much discussion over many years about transition, there is still much to be done to address the needs of this particular group. Young adults with life-limiting conditions and their families must be supported to plan ahead and to develop skills to enable them to become more independent. Organizations must work together to deliver a choice of care options and seamless transition from paediatric to adult services for young people with a life-limiting condition.