ABSTRACT
The care of the fatally ill child is one of the most difficult tasks for the hospital staff. It has an immediate, powerful and often lasting impact on their work. In many respects the reactions of the staff are similar to those of the parents. This chapter discusses the problems which face hospital personnel in their efforts to help the dying child and his family. The views are based on interdisciplinary work within Well-Baby clinics, paediatric and obstetric departments and multi-disciplinary and inter-hospital study groups on the effect of illness and hospitalisation on children. When thinking about the difficulties encountered in the care of children during terminal illness, one starts with the realisation that hospital is a highly organised structure orientated towards saving life and curing. The loss of a sibling or a parent in early childhood is particularly damaging to the development of the bereaved person.
