Network of Childhood Illness Organisations

Network of Childhood Illness Organisations

The Network of Childhood Illness Organisations (NCIO) was established in 2019 in order to promote relevant collaborations, share information and expertise and create a combined voice for advocating for enhanced services for children and young people with experience of hospital, and their families. The network is coordinated by Children in Hospital Ireland (CIH).

The objective of the network is to maximise combined knowledge and evidence from childhood illness organisations so that we, as a group, can be a stronger voice in the promotion of better services for affected children and their families. We aim to ​

– Identify and raise awareness of common issues and potential supports for children and young people during their experience of treatment and aftercare within the healthcare system

– Identify and raise awareness of common issues for families across the childhood illness groups and to highlight the need for a family centred and developmentally supportive approach to care

– Promote professional learning and collaboration amongst the entire network, and bilaterally, ​between individual organisations and identify gaps in current knowledge and propose solutions to this

– Be the united voice for network members and a central contact point for policy makers and other stakeholders​