Care Plan for the Dying Child
The Care Plan for the Dying Child (CPDC) is a clinical tool that supports generalist and specialist clinicians to provide high-quality, compassionate and coordinated end-of-life care for children and young people.
Developed by the Children's Health Queensland's Paediatric Palliative Care Service, it provides a structured framework for when a child is recognised as likely to die within days or hours.
The care plan brings together:
- clinical assessment
- symptom and comfort management
- individualised care planning
- communication and psychosocial support.
This helps clinicians initiate comfort measures, anticipate and prescribe for common symptoms, discontinue interventions that are no longer appropriate, and provide psychological and spiritual support to the child and family.
The Care Plan for the Dying Child is for children and young people aged under 18 years. Please use the Care Plan for the Dying Person for adults aged 18 years and over.
Access the care plans and supporting resources
The Care Plan for the Dying Child contains three clinical forms that can be used separately or together:
- Care Plan for the Dying Child: Initial Assessment (paper) (PDF 441 kB)
- Comfort Observations and Symptom Assessment (COSA) (ieMR or paper) (PDF 459 kB)
- Care After Death: Care Plan for the Dying Child (paper) (PDF 289 kB)
Download and print the forms from your local Hospital and Health Service Clinical Forms catalogue.
The Care Plan for the Dying Child guideline for health professionals (PDF 1431 kB) steps you through how to use the care plans.
Please note: There is a specific Paediatric Palliative Care Navigator Band that can be added for paediatric patients with palliative care needs. Refer to the quick reference guide (PDF 219 kB) for step-by-step instructions.
Comfort observation and symptom assessment and management
The new Palliative Care Comfort Observation and Symptom Assessment (COSA) Specialty Chart within Managing Deterioration provides a graphical view of comfort observations and symptom assessments to support monitoring and decision-making.
Read the poster (PDF 121 kB) to learn more about the new specialty chart and PowerForm.
Quick reference guides
Use these quick reference guides with the Palliative Care COSA Specialty Chart:
- COSA Additional Criteria Paediatric (PDF 572 kB)
- COSA Paediatric – Medical Officer (PDF 591 kB)
- COSA Paediatric – Nursing (PDF 580 kB)
For business rules, including patient eligibility and age criteria, see the Digital Palliative Care Comfort Observation and Symptom Assessment (COSA) – Paediatric (PDF 272 kB) document from Children's Health Queensland.
Further learning resources for health professionals
A Practical Guide to Palliative Care in Paediatrics (4th Edition)
This guide aims to assist clinicians in providing holistic, family-centred palliative care for children and young people with life-limiting or life-threatening conditions. It covers clinical, psychosocial, communication, ethical, symptom-management and end-of-life care.
A Practical Guide to Palliative Care in Paediatrics (4th Edition)
Quality of Care Collaborative Australia
The Quality of Care Collaborative Australia (QuoCCA) supports health professionals to deliver paediatric palliative care through education, training and endorsed learning materials. It includes resources on clinical practice, communication, wellbeing and self-care, cultural and spiritual care, symptom management, advance care planning, grief and bereavement.
Quality of Care Collaborative Australia Resources for Health Professionals
Videos to support conversations about end-of-life care
These videos support health professionals to talk with children and families about end-of-life care. Topics include: