Responding to the news that Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice is planning to make staff redundant and change the way its care is delivered, Nick Carroll, Chief Executive Officer of Together for Short Lives said:
“This is awful news for staff and volunteers at Forget Me Not, as well as the children and families who rely on the lifeline care and support they provide. My thoughts are with them all.”
“Even before the recent Budget, children’s hospices across England were facing a perfect storm. The rise in employer National Insurance contributions will pile even greater pressure on to children’s hospices. This will put services at risk, leaving more families feeling isolated and overwhelmed, and loading even more demand on to already overstretched NHS services.”
“With an announcement on the future of the £25 million NHS England Children’s Hospice Grant expected soon, we urge the government to commit to delivering it as a centrally-distributed, ringfenced grant and increase it to reflect inflation. Ministers must also reimburse children’s hospices for the increase in National Insurance in full.”
