Children’s and young people’s hospices in England will receive £80m over the next three years, giving vital services greater financial certainty to continue caring for seriously ill children and their families.
The multi-year funding, distributed through local Integrated Care Boards on behalf of NHS England, builds on the Government’s previous £100m investment.
Around 99,000 children in the UK are living with life-limiting conditions, a figure that has tripled in the past two decades.
The funding commitment, running for the remainder of this Parliament, aims to strengthen hospice services as part of the Government’s 10-Year Health Plan to move more care into community settings.
Minister of State for Care Stephen Kinnock said: ‘Through this funding we are making sure hospices can continue delivering invaluable, compassionate, and high-quality care to children and their families – and ending the cliff edge of short-sighted, annual funding cycles – providing certainty for children’s hospices, but crucially for those they care for.’
Toby Porter, CEO of Hospice UK, said: ‘This is a welcome and significant first step to placing the children's hospice sector on a sustainable footing. The stability provided by a multi-year settlement will have a real impact on the care children’s hospices provide and the families they support.’
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