Reacting to Budget 2025, Nick Carroll, Chief Executive of Together for Short Lives said:
“Seriously ill children need access to high quality hospice and palliative care which is funded sustainably by the NHS and local councils. Yet too often, the way in which these lifeline services are funded is patchy, meaning that families cannot get the care they need, when and where they need it.
“The £80 million for children’s hospices in England over the next three years recently committed by the government is very positive. However, a £310 million gap in NHS funding for children’s palliative care in hospitals, in the community and in children’s hospices, remains.
“Amid workforce shortages and a rising demand for more complex children’s palliative care services, the cost of recruiting and retaining skilled and experienced staff is soaring. While good news for low-paid workers, more pressure may be put on charities like children’s hospices as the National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage increases.
“We are therefore disappointed that the Chancellor of the Exchequer has chosen not to take immediate action today to put children’s hospice and palliative care on a more sustainable footing. It is vital that the government urgently fills the funding gap – and invests to address the workforce challenges facing seriously ill children as it develops its new palliative care modern service framework.
“Only by doing so can ministers shift care from hospital to the community for seriously ill children and their families – many of whom do not have time to wait.”
It is vital that the government urgently fills the funding gap – and invests to address the workforce challenges facing seriously ill children as it develops its new palliative care modern service framework.
Nick Carroll, Chief Executive of Together for Short Lives