Children’s hospices ‘could benefit from lifeline fund’

HOSPICES which look after Wales’ sickest children get less funding from the Welsh Government than their UK equivalents.

Wales’ two children’s hospices provide respite and palliative care for more than 400 families with children with life-limiting conditions.

They get less than 10% of their annual funding from the Welsh Government. In England, the equivalent funding is 21%, in Northern Ireland it is 25% and in Scotland it is 50%.

A debate was held in the Senedd about creating a “lifeline fund” to give funding parity with their peers across the UK.

Extra money would fund more nights of care for families, according to the charities, and allow them to expand their support.

The debate was led by Conservative MS Mark Isherwood.

He said: “Wales needs a move towards a sustainable model of funding that is more aligned with children’s hospice charities in other UK nations. This funding would give the children’s hospices in Wales confidence to sustain and expand their services to better meet the needs of all children with life limiting conditions and their families across the country, in turn helping address Wales’ ambition to be a ‘compassionate country’.”

He told the Senedd it would give hospices “the financial confidence to plan sustainable services”.

The families who use Ty Hafan, in the Vale of Glamorgan, say it is a lifeline that should receive more funding. Khloe Pavis’ son Llewie has an acquired brain injury and requires two-to-one care 24 hours a day. She is a single mum and Ty Hafan offers respite care for her and Llewie.

“It’s given me a rest when I have been exhausted beyond words and local council services couldn’t help as we didn’t have care set up as they can’t supply carers,” she said.

A Welsh Government spokeswoman said: “We continue to invest more than £8.4m every year to support specialist palliative care services across Wales. Much of this goes to adult and children’s hospices. We have also allocated £9.3m of emergency funding to hospices through the pandemic to protect core clinical services and to strengthen bereavement support. More than £2.1m of this funding has been allocated to support Welsh children’s hospices.”