By Sasha Glasgow
Care Services Minister, Ivan Lewis will today announce?news of??20 million funding?which will be used to?improve?the palliative services used by thousands of children with life-limiting or life-threatening conditions.
The launch of The Children’s Palliative Care Strategy?’Better lives: Better Care,’ will?offer?some?children more choices about where they are cared for and die, whether it be at home or in a hospice.
This funding will see an extension of support offered to children and parents. The current grant of ?27m has helped children’s hospices and enabled hospice-at-home care, where necessary.
Care Services Minister, Ivan Lewis said: “Today’s announcement means a further ?10m per year until 2011 for children’s hospices and hospice at home grant, which will help thousands of children with life-limiting or life-threatening conditions to receive the care that they want, where they want.”
Barbara Gelb, Chief Executive, Association of Children’s Hospices added: “This is tremendous news for children’s hospice services and life-limited children and we are very grateful to the government.
“The ?20m gives children’s hospice services a further two years’ breathing space to engage with local health and social care commissioners to gain secure, long-term funding. And the overall strategy offers commissioners a first-rate route map to give life-limited children and their families the full range of services they need.”
