Referral Info
A referral can be made to Jigsaw from anywhere in Cumbria by anyone involved in the care of the child with permission from the parent or child/young person. Direct referrals from parents, the young person themselves or through a third party are also considered.
A member of the qualified nursing care team will then contact the family to discuss the service and seek permission to obtain medical information. As each child is assessed, input about their medical background from the child/young person, family GP, paediatrician and other professionals helps to build a complete picture of the needs of the child/young person.
Referral criteria
We will accept referrals for those children who have life limiting/life threatening conditions, for which the prognosis is that there is no reasonable hope of cure and the child/young person is likely to die prematurely. Some conditions cause progressive deterioration resulting in the child or young person becoming increasingly dependent on their parents or carers.
Group 1
Life threatening conditions for which curative treatment may be feasible but can fail and where access to palliative care services may be necessary when treatment fails. Children in long term remission or following successful curative treatment are not included.
Examples: cancer, irreversible organ failures of heart, liver, kidney.
Group 2
Conditions where premature death is inevitable, where there may be long periods of intensive treatment aimed at prolonged life and allowing participation in normal activities.
Example: cystic fibrosis.
Group 3
Progressive conditions without curative treatment options, where treatment is exclusively palliative and may commonly extend over many years.
Examples: Batten disease, mucopolysaccaridoses, muscular dystrophy.
Group 4
Irreversible but non-progressive conditions causing severe disability leading to susceptibility to health complications and the likelihood of premature death.
Examples: severe cerebral palsy, multiple disabilities, brain or spinal cord injury.