Children & Young People

We provide specialist complex care for children and young people across Yorkshire at home, at school and out in the community.

We support children with complex health needs, learning disabilities, autism and behaviours that may require additional support, including children whose needs cross more than one of these areas.

From a minimum of four hours at a time to school days, waking nights and 24-hour packages, we build care around the individual child, their needs and everyday life.

Because they’re a child first. Their care should fit around their life. 

Complex care isn't always clinical.

A child may have significant health needs, a learning disability, autism, behaviours that require additional support or a combination of these.

Depending on the individual child, our teams can support with:

Clinical care
Tracheostomy care & emergency tube changes • Oral, nasal & tracheal suctioning • Enteral feeding – PEG, gastrostomy button, NG & PEJ • Epilepsy & rescue medication • Nebulisers & respiratory treatments • Cough assist & airway clearance • Prescribed oxygen & humidification • Clinical observations • Medication support

Learning disability & autism support
Communication • Sensory needs • Predictable routines • Emotional regulation • Developing independence • Accessing activities, education and the community

Behavioural support
Understanding triggers • Recognising early signs of distress • Following individual behaviour/support plans • Positive and consistent approaches • De-escalation • Keeping the child and others safe

Everyday support
Personal care • Moving & handling • Eating and drinking support • Daily routines • Activities and community access

Where other specialist support is needed, we'll look at this as part of the individual referral and assessment.

Staff receive the child-specific training they need and are competency assessed for the care and support they're expected to provide.

Training is only the start. Knowing the child and being competent to support them safely is what matters.

Care needs to work around real life.

At home
Supporting clinical & behavioural needs, personal care, routines, activities and family life.

At school
Providing the child's agreed care and clinical support throughout the school day, working alongside school staff while remaining focused on the child's individual care needs.

Out and about
Supporting activities, appointments, days out and time in the community.

Overnight & 24-hour care
Providing waking-night and round-the-clock support where this forms part of the child's care package.

Life doesn't only happen at home. Neither should care.

Parents and carers often know more about their child's everyday needs than anyone else.

We listen to that.

We want to know the things that don't necessarily appear in a clinical plan, how your child communicates, what makes them laugh, what reassures them, what they don't like, their routines and what a good day looks like for them.

At the same time, we're there as a professional care provider. Our teams work to agreed care plans, clinical guidance and their professional responsibilities.

Families bring their knowledge of their child. We bring the skills and systems needed to deliver their care safely.

Consistency can be particularly important for children with complex health needs, learning disabilities, autism, communication differences or behaviours that require additional support.

Wherever possible, we build a small team around the child so they can get to know the people supporting them, and the team can properly get to know them too.

That means understanding more than the care plan. It means learning how the child communicates, recognising changes in behaviour, understanding what may cause distress and knowing what helps.

Because trust takes time, and familiar faces matter.

Complex care often involves a lot of people.

We work alongside families and the professionals already involved in the child's care. That might include NHS Children's Continuing Care teams, community nurses, schools, therapists, consultants, hospices and social care.

Good communication matters. So does knowing who is responsible for what.

Our job is to deliver the care we're responsible for safely, recognise when something changes and make sure concerns and important information get to the right people.

We support people of all ages with life-limiting conditions and palliative care needs, working alongside the person, those important to them and their wider clinical and hospice team.

The clinical care matters enormously.

So does everything that makes someone who they are.