On 22 June, Stephen attended an event in Parliament about children’s palliative care, and joined the call to protect and extend the NHS Children’s Hospice Grant beyond 2023/24, supporting Richard House and other childrens’ hospices.
At the event, which was hosted by the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Children Who Need Palliative Care, the charity Together for Short Lives presented data from a new report, setting out the importance of NHS funding for hospice care for young people and their families.
The Children’s Hospice Grant was introduced in 2007 as a central grant to children’s hospices. In 2021/22 it was worth a total of £17 million and is planned to increase to £25 million in 2023/24. Together for Short Lives welcome this rise, but are concerned that officials are not committing to protecting and extending the grant. They warned that children’s hospices could be forced to cut care and support for children if they were unable to access the grant in the next two years.
Speaking afterwards, Stephen said “I was pleased to attend the APPG’s event to hear about new research on available support for life-limited children and young people with complex healthcare conditions. It is important to recognise the vital care hospices provide children and their families across the country, like Richard House Children’s Hospice in Newham. In doing so, they offer families a lifeline and take pressure away from overstretched hospital services.”