Dear Colleagues,
In November 1989 the Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) was adopted by the United Nations and in 1992 it was ratified by Ireland. More recently, the international community has developed specific standards about children’s rights in healthcare including the Council of Europe Guidelines on Child-friendly Healthcare adopted in 2011 and the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child’s General Comment No 15 adopted in 2013.

A large number of the articles of the UNCRC apply to all aspects of clinical care and health services. Paediatric services in Ireland have long strived to support and implement article 24 of the UNCRC which states that …“the child has a right to the highest standard of health and medical care attainable. States shall place special emphasis on the provision of primary and preventive health care, public health education and the reduction of infant mortality. They shall encourage international cooperation in this regard and strive to see that no child is deprived of access to effective health services”. The consequent development of this Charter is the product of exemplary collaboration by the Public Reference Group for the Paediatrics and Neonatology Clinical  Programme and of outstanding leadership by the clinical leads.

This Charter is based primarily on: the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child; the Charter of the European Association for Children in Hospital, The Australian Charter on the Rights of Children and Young People in Healthcare Services, The National Healthcare Charter – You and Your Health Service Ireland and other important documents on children’s experience of health services in Ireland and children’s health status were taken into account in its development.

There are a number of reasons for developing this document. For example,

1) Children experience illness, injury and disability in a different way from adults, making them especially susceptible to harm.

2) Children are vulnerable because of their developmental immaturity. This vulnerability is compounded by the way our society is structured.

3) Children are dependent upon the adults around them, this dependency is constantly evolving along a continuum from dependence to independence. Many people are involved in the decision making process for children and young people. Healthcare providers have an obligation to fulfill their responsibilities to children and young people by providing care that takes into account children and young people’s rights, their evolving capacities and the role of parents/carers to provide direction and guidance to their children.

Following the development of the National Healthcare Charter for Children, we have the responsibility to promote and support its implementation across healthcare services in Ireland. We are committed to making a difference, addressing children’s health needs and improving children’s experience and outcomes of healthcare.

An implementation plan including a programme of awareness raising, promotional materials for children and their parents will be available on the HSE website www.hse.ie and in all publically funded paediatric services across the country.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank all the children and young people, parents and healthcare professionals who gave their time so generously in developing this document and especially all of those who submitted very detailed feedback during the consultation period. If you would like to give feedback about the National Healthcare Charter for Children, please send your comments or suggestions to yoursay@hse.ie.