Anxiety over hospice grant
Maidenhead: Children’s service still awaiting ICB fund
The CEO of a Maidenheadbased children’s hospice has warned services may be reduced in the long-term if vital government funding and commissioned contracts are not received.
Previously, Alexander Devine Children’s Hospice Service in Snowball Hill would receive an annual grant, known as Section 64, from central Government, which would be used for palliative care services for children.
But charity founder Fiona Devine said the hospice, which supports youngsters with life-threatening and life-limiting conditions and their families, is still waiting to receive this year’s grant, which should have come through at start of this month.
Fiona explained that, instead of coming directly from central Government, the money now comes to hospices via Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) and said she has been ‘fighting’ with Frimley ICB and Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West (BOB) ICB to obtain the grant.
She added there is a ‘real concern, anxiety, fear [and] frustration’ that Alexander Devine’s grant could be ‘swallowed up’ due to issues and cuts facing ICBs.
Last year – the last time the grant money came directly via central Government – the hospice received £254,000.
The hospice has still not received any confirmation from either ICB about whether they have the grant money and when it will be given to Alexander Devine, Fiona said.
She also called on the ICBs to provide a commissioned contract to the hospice this year, which provides funds to operate the local services the hospice carries out.
Last year, Alexander Devine had a commissioned contract with BOB ICB for £79,000, but this year, the hospice does not have a contract with this ICB, which has stated it has ‘no funding’ for the hospice,
Fiona said.
She added Frimley ICB, with whom the hospice had a commissioned contract of £186,000 in 2023, is still not in a position to confirm if the hospice will have a similar contract this year.
Fiona said: “I feel really frustrated, very concerned because this is not money that we should be having to fight for.
“In the long term it means that there could be a reduction in our services.
“Nobody wants that to happen, and we certainly don’t want to be in this position.”
The hospice is supporting the Together for Short Lives campaign Short Lives Can’t Wait, which calls for better palliative support and funding across the country.
Fiona added: “I would call for the ICBs – please let us know about our money, especially the central government grant.
“That’s money that’s forecasted within our budget, we need to have that money, we need to know where it is, we need to know when we are going to get it and I would absolutely implore them to commission us as every child has the right now to have a proper and planned and seamless endof-life pathway.”
She has also called for central Government to provide reassurance that, after 2025, the Section 64 grant will continue.
A spokesperson for NHS Frimley ICB, said: “NHS Frimley welcomes the new report from Together for Short Lives and its valuable insight into palliative care services for children.
“We are working closely with our hospice services and have commissioned a children’s integrated community pathway in East Berkshire to deliver community palliative care.
“We are also working with our partners in neighbouring health systems to explore how we strengthen services to ensure they are both appropriately commissioned and sustainable.”
A spokesperson for NHS BOB ICB, said: “We are aware of the Together for Short Lives report and we remain fully committed to providing the best possible palliative and end-of-life care to people of all ages.
“We are working with all our partners to drive improvements and ensure 24/7 access to care.
“It is not appropriate for the ICB to comment on individual contracts and funding.”
The Department of Health and Social Care was contacted for comment.