SERIOUSLY-ILL children in the York and Selby area are to benefit from a new nursing service from the start of next year.

Final preparations are being made to expand the children's community nursing team.

The new flexible service, made possible by a £475,000 New Opportunities Fund grant, will allow families of children with life-threatening illnesses to get advice and support outside regular hours.

It will be fully operational by the start of 2004.

Angela Walker, head of the community nursing team, said: "We have been working hard to set up a system which meets the individual needs of our young patients. This extra funding has allowed us to create an innovative care scheme that will make a real difference to local families in need of support for children with life-threatening illnesses."

The funding for the service was secured by a joint bid from Selby and York Primary Care Trust and York Hospitals NHS Trust.

The children's community team is also creating a bereavement service to offer support to bereaved children and their families in their own homes.

A psychologist and a community psychiatric nurse have been employed to provide sessions within the new service.

Duncan Clarke, the trust's Head of Children and Family Services, said: "These new services offer an important support network to families across the Selby and York area.

"Children requiring palliative care need physical, psychological, social and emotional support.

"With this innovative care scheme we can offer these services in a flexible way to meet individual requirements."

Palliative care is the care of patients with advanced and progressive illness for whom the emphasis is quality of life. Such patients, and their families, have physical, psychological, social and emotional needs.

Updated: 14:42 Tuesday, October 28, 2003