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We're delighted to announce the 7 research leaders who have been awarded the prestigious NIHR Research Professorship award. The outstanding researchers will undertake research that aims to make a positive impact on people and communities. Read more about the awardees and their

So enormously proud that Lorna Fraser has been announced in the new round of National Institute for Health and Care Research professors. Great for children’s palliative. Delighted to host this prestigious award at the Cicely Saunders Institute at King's within Nursing, Midwifery & Palliative Care at King's 💙 nihr.ac.uk/news/7-researc…

Come and hear all about the latest research in perinatal mental health and discuss with colleagues your own thoughts and ideas about how to progress perinatal mental health care in the UK and beyond... eventbrite.co.uk/e/ukims-perina…

rdcu.be/d77cW Hospital in-reach family-centred social prescribing for children with neurodisability. Published in BMC Health Services Research.

My letter in today’s Guardian on last weeks oral evidence sessions for the assisted dying bill - and how they left us with more questions than answers (including a big one)…

Evidence from my colleague Lorna Fraser on how the Terminally Ill Adults Bill will affect children and children’s services, and the need for children to be considered in impact assessments publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5901/cmpu…

Thanks Prof Katherine Sleeman . I am now even more concerned about the impact on children given that professionals will be able to speak to children about assisted dying before they are 18. Together for Short Lives RCPCH

Assisted dying in the Uk - law change must be informed by robust evidence Blog by me for BMJ unpicking the much cited “20 people a day die in pain” soundbite. blogs.bmj.com/spcare/2025/03…

“If the purpose of safeguarding is to ensure that no one who might otherwise want to live is ‘assisted’ to die, then palliative care is an essential safeguard.” By me in The House magazine 👇

Because We Care: Recommendations from siblings of children with life-limiting conditions ⁦Annabel Howell⁩ becausewecareproject.com

The needs of children whose siblings have life-limiting conditions have been highlighted in a study by King's College London and the University of Strathclyde. Read more: ow.ly/RcXz50VGYgF Cicely Saunders Institute at King's

You might wonder why a paediatric palliative care specialist was speaking at an event on the Leadbeater Bill, given it would restrict assisted dying to people aged 18 or over. 🧵

1. Many children with complex and life-limiting conditions are now living into adulthood. So this Bill will directly affect them when they turn 18 - or even earlier, as there is no age limit to having conversations about assisted dying in the Bill.

2. Many paediatric palliative care services (such as hospices) care for young adults beyond age 18 due to a lack of appropriate alternatives. Will these children’s hospices therefore provide assisted dying? Will they be obliged to? How will this impact other patients and staff?

3. Children with life-limiting conditions may see adults in the media with similar conditions to theirs (such as degenerative neurological conditions) talking about their wish for assisted death. This could send a message to these children that some lives are not worth living.

4. Children with life-limiting illnesses are also often very aware of the impact of their care needs on others. They are not immune to feeling a burden. The Leadbeater Bill allows assisted death for someone seeking it because they feel a burden.

5. There are gaps in provision of palliative care for children. In the UK there are tertiary children’s hospitals without a consultant-led paediatric palliative care service. Only 1 in 3 services meets NICE recommendations for multidisciplinary team members.

6. These gaps mean children do not always get the treatment and medication they need to prevent or relieve their suffering.

7. Note that other countries have widened their assisted dying to/ suicide laws over time to include older children, younger children and neonates. In the Netherlands, euthanasia is now possible across the lifespan.

8. In summary, the Leadbeater Bill will affect children and young people directly and indirectly. Directly, when they turn 18. And indirectly, because of societal messages that some lives are not worth living. The impact on children must be included in the impact assessment.