For children with life limiting and complex conditions, care rarely sits in one place. Families may be supported by hospitals, community teams, GPs, hospices, social care and urgent care services, often at the same time.

At Francis House Children’s Hospice, having access to the GM Care Record (GMCR) is helping staff bring together information from across those services, supporting safer, more coordinated and more compassionate care for children and their families.

We spoke to Sharon Doodson, Director of Care at Francis House, about what access to the GMCR means in practice for staff delivering care and for families navigating incredibly challenging circumstances.

Seeing the whole picture, not just fragments 

Francis House supports children, young people and families across Greater Manchester, providing respite care, symptom management, end of life care and bereavement support. Many of the children they care for have highly complex needs and long histories of interaction with multiple services.

“By the time families come to us, they’ve often been involved with health and care services for many years,” Sharon explains. “Their child’s story is complex and it doesn’t stop when they arrive at the hospice.”

Access to the GMCR means staff at Francis House can now view key information such as medications, allergies, diagnoses, care plans and recent clinical activity from across the system.

“That joined up view is hugely valuable,” Sharon says. “It helps our staff understand a child’s needs more quickly and more confidently, without relying solely on families to relay information or chasing it from different organisations.”

Reducing the burden on families 

Families of children with life limiting conditions can find themselves repeating the same information again and again as they move between services, often at times of high stress.

“One of the biggest benefits is what families don’t have to do anymore,” Sharon explains. “They don’t have to retell their child’s medical story from scratch every time or worry about missing something important.”

Having access to the same, up-to-date information as other parts of the system means hospice staff can pick up care more smoothly, with fewer repeated conversations and less administrative friction for families.

“That consistency helps families feel reassured,” Sharon says. “They can see that everyone involved in their child’s care is working from the same information.”

Supporting safer, more confident decision making 

For hospice teams, timely access to accurate information is critical, particularly during out of hours care, symptom escalation or unplanned changes.

“Knowing medication histories, allergies, recent admissions or safeguarding considerations really matters,” Sharon explains. “The GMCR supports our staff to make informed decisions quickly, especially when things change.”

This confidence is particularly important when coordinating care with community teams, hospitals or urgent care services.

“It means we can have more effective conversations with other professionals because we’re all looking at the same information,” Sharon adds. “That improves coordination and reduces the risk of things being missed.”

Supporting advance care planning and coordination 

For children and families receiving hospice care, advance care planning is a sensitive but essential part of ensuring care aligns with family wishes.

Access to shared care planning information through the GMCR supports clearer communication across organisations involved in a child’s care.

“It helps everyone understand what’s important to the family,” Sharon says. “That’s especially important if care needs to be delivered urgently, or by a professional who doesn’t know the family well.”

Having that information visible across services supports continuity and helps ensure decisions respect family preferences, wherever care is delivered.

Working as part of a wider system 

Hospices sit at the centre of a complex web of care partners, and Sharon is clear that the GMCR strengthens those relationships rather than replacing them.

“We still rely on strong professional relationships and good communication,” she says. “But having shared information removes barriers and delays, and it really supports that multidisciplinary way of working.”

For Francis House, access to the GMCR reinforces their role as a key part of the Greater Manchester health and care system – not working in isolation but fully connected.

Looking ahead 

Reflecting on their experience so far, Sharon sees shared records as a vital foundation for the future of palliative and hospice care.

“Children’s hospice care is all about coordination, trust and understanding the whole family context,” she says. “Having access to the GM Care Record supports that for staff, for partners, and ultimately for families.”

Discover how Francis House helps children with life-limiting conditions and their families live every moment to the full: Francis House Children’s Hospice