Children's hospices saved from 'cliff edge': £80m to support families facing 'unimaginable challenges'

LBC reported on Tuesday that many hospices serving both adults and children were 'on the brink' - with 12,000 terminally ill patients at risk of losing care.

The Department of Health and Social Care announced the funding would be spread over three years, giving hospices greater certainty after years of short-term grants and financial strain.

Care minister Stephen Kinnock said the settlement would “end the cliff edge of short-sighted, annual funding cycles” and ensure hospices can continue to deliver compassionate, high-quality care to children and families “facing unimaginable challenges”.

The move has been hailed by members of the sector as a “welcome and significant first step” to placing the sector on a more sustainable footing.

Read more: If this doesn’t shame the government, nothing will: Hospices are being left to die

Nick Carroll, chief executive of Together for Short Lives, said: “Maintaining and increasing this funding over three years will help to bring some clarity and reassurance to children’s hospices, helping them to plan and deliver care over a longer period.

“Above all, it will help ensure seriously ill children and their families can continue to access vital hospice care beyond 2025/26.”

The announcement comes as a sigh of relief for children’s hospices across the country, many of which have been warning of looming financial crises.

Data shared with LBC earlier this week, compiled by the Liberal Democrats, suggested that 40% of hospices in England were preparing to make cuts within six months if new funding was not secured - including half of all children’s hospices.

The sector has been struggling under mounting financial pressure, exacerbated by the recent rise in National Insurance Contributions.

With no exemptions for charities, every children’s hospice in England is expected to face an average increase of £140,000 a year in staffing costs.

Trevor Johnson, chief executive of Acorns Children’s Hospice - the UK’s largest children’s hospice charity, supporting more than 780 children and 1,000 families each year - said the funding announcement would provide much-needed “certainty and stability” for the families who rely on their care.

He said: “It’s amazing news and gives us that certainty. We now know what we’re doing for the next few years and can continue supporting children and families without the fear of turning anyone away.

“This is a great start, it keeps us standing where we are, but we need recognition that costs are increasing and sustainable funding must keep pace.

“For Acorns alone, the National Insurance rise has added £400,000 to our annual bill, money we must now fundraise unless further support is provided.”

The announcement follows Acorns “Hands for Hope” campaign, which gathered more than 36,000 signatures calling for long-term funding for children’s hospices.

The petition was hand-delivered to Downing Street by hospice leaders and families who rely on hospice care on Wednesday.

Mum Georgia Pearson, whose son Harrison depends on Acorns critical care, said: “Acorns brings light to us. It gives us a chance to be a family and without Acorns, like many other families, the dark times would have been a lot darker.

“Thanks to Acorns and we’ve now got a support network of such amazing people who provide expert care and treat Harrison like their own. Without them, we would have all really struggled.”

She added: “I’m just so grateful to Acorns and for every day we have with Harrison, whether that’s for two years, or ten years, they give us a chance just to be a family.”