Children's Hospices Urge Parties to Pledge to Fair and Sustainable Funding
Tŷ Hafan nurse Emma, Talis and dad Ryan
Wales' two children's hospices are calling on all Welsh political parties to pledge to stand up for children with life-shortening conditions ahead of this year's national Children's Hospice Week.
Tŷ Hafan and Tŷ Gobaith want politicians to pledge to include fair and sustainable funding for children's hospices in their party manifestos – committing to funding at least 25% of care costs in 2025, rising to 30% in 2030.
In real terms, this pledge means raising statutory support for children's hospices from the £2.3 million they expect to receive in 2025/26 to around £3.2 million in the same year, and then stepping this up to just under £5 million by 2030/31. It's a staged uplift of £2.7 million over four years, and the hospices say it would give them the certainty they need to recruit and retain the specialist teams that children and families rely on every day.
Tŷ Gobaith Chief Executive Andy Goldsmith explained that the number of children with life-threatening conditions in Wales has increased significantly over the last decade. These children have increasingly complex medical needs, and their families are facing growing challenges, as NHS and local authority services come under increasing pressure.
'Across Wales children with life-threatening conditions are not getting the support that they and their families need, and the children's hospices are committed to making sure that every child and family who could benefit from our support is able to access services,' he added.
'To achieve this, we need to have confidence in our future funding to invest in services and to employ the highly skilled nurses and health care professionals required. That is why fair and sustainable funding is so vital.
'We want to bring essential care closer to home, particularly in remote rural communities. At the moment accessing support can be a postcode lottery and that is wrong. We need to help every child with a life-threatening condition to live their best life, receive the best care at end of life, and to support families to go on living beyond.'
Tŷ Hafan Chief Executive Irfon Rees agreed:
'This is not about children's hospices competing with the NHS for funding. The children's hospices in Wales play a critical role in the health and wellbeing of some of Wales most vulnerable and medically complex children. With most of the hospice care funded by charitable donations, the non-profit, charitable children's hospices are a cost effective and important partner to the NHS and local government.
'With costs rising and increasing need, we are asking for ever more of our incredible donors and supporters and we believe it is only fair that the next Welsh Government commit to this partnership and to strike a fair balance between state funding and charitable donations.
'We are incredibly grateful to the Welsh Government for the one-off funding in 2024/25 and the uplift in funding for hospices in the 2025/26 budget, but there is no certainty of this funding beyond this Senedd.'
Children's Hospice Week runs from June 16 – 22 this year, by which time the two hospices hope at least one of the leading political parties will have made the pledge
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