On 21st March, the Youth Group conducted a roundtable on transition from paediatric to adult care, attended by representatives of patient organisations, health groups, as well as healthcare professionals and delegates of Member States.
The objectives were to raise awareness of the challenges and potential pitfalls that young patients face when transitioning to adult care, to contribute to building a safe support network and to highlight best healthcare practices for the transition process.
The day kicked-off with a role play to show young patients’ perspective of transition and the problems they may encounter. This was followed by a sequence of presentations sharing real-life case studies and project findings on moving into the adult healthcare system, including:
- Models of Child Health Appraised (MOCHA) – an EU-funded project into child health systems in Europe, with a focus on children’s rights;
- The Milestone Project – an EU-wide study on managing the link and strengthening transition from child to adult healthcare for young patients with mental health conditions;
- Anna Zaghi – a member of the EPF Youth Group, who spoke about an Italian pilot project on transition for young people with diabetes;
- The European Society for Paediatric Oncology (SIOPE) – a perspective on transition in paediatric haemato-oncology.
It was apparent that there were similar issues facing young patients when transitioning that need attention, such as the lack of resources and for healthcare professionals to play a bigger role in the process. Young patients want to be considered as whole persons, not just a diagnosis. To this end they should be encouraged to be more empowered and self-manage their condition, whilst healthcare professionals should have a more holistic approach and be trained to better communicate with young patients facing the transition process. What’s more, there should be a greater emphasis on primary care and prevention as well as standardising the responsibilities of Transition Coordinators, profiles that are not often in place in national healthcare systems. The role of coordinators would be to centralise information about young patients in transition to adult care and facilitate a smooth process.
Report and recommendations on transition to adult care will be shared and made publicly available on the EPF website.
Contact persons:
Valentina Strammiello, Programme Officer, valentina.strammiello@eu-patient.eu
Laurence Woollard, EPF Youth Group Intern, laurence.woollard@eu-patient.eu
