Anthony Guest and colleagues describe how a real time video link is helping to support families caring for their child at home

Given the choice, parents are opting to look after critically ill or terminal, neurologically-impaired children within their own home setting. This is a very stressful thing for them to take on. But when faced with the prospect of an open-ended hospital admission and the chance to try to live a ‘normal family life’ they are opting to try to do the very best for their child. A significant factor in this decision is that noone can predict how long their child has to live. One of the reasons for this is that the progress and effect a particular neurological condition has upon each child can still be very individual, despite previous documented cases. This article describes how a paediatric neurology team used telemedicine to offer real help and support to families in need.