Reacting to the Children’s Commissioner for England’s report on children waiting to leave hospital, Nick Carroll, Chief Executive of Together for Short Lives, said:
“I am very grateful to Dame Rachel de Souza and her team for using her statutory powers as Children’s Commissioner to collect the first data on how children are waiting to leave hospital because the health and care system is not taking responsibility for their care. Children living with serious illness and their families deserve many moments of happiness, supported by palliative care that enables them to thrive.
“Sadly, Dame Rachel’s findings reflect what Together for Short Lives has heard from families for some time: despite the incredible support that NHS and voluntary sector children’s palliative care services provide, too many families do not get the choice to access it at home or at a children’s hospice. This is due to workforce shortages, fragile funding and ministers not holding local NHS bodies to account for planning services which meet best practice standards.”
“While Together for Short Lives will continue to work closely with officials to develop the new all-age palliative care modern service framework to address these challenges, I urge the UK Government to implement Dame Rachel’s recommendations in full.
Read the Children’s Commissioner’s full report: Children waiting to leave hospital