The Conservative Party has today announced a new per-patient funding stream for all hospices and other providers of end-of-life care, to ensure that proper funding for essential home and community-based care for sick children can continue.
Mr Cameron said he wanted to guarantee funding for hospices
Speaking about the announcement today from Rainbows Hospice in Loughborough, David Cameron said:
“This Christmas many thousands of families in Britain are caring for terminally ill children. This New Year they’ll be coping with the worry of an uncertain future. It is essential that these parents and carers get the support they need to make life liveable, comfortable and fun for both them and their children.
“Hospices provide a vital part of that support. They are a sanctuary for parents looking for specialist help and understanding, a special place for children to have short breaks and – most importantly – a loving, professional environment for care at the end of a child’s life. So it is extremely concerning to hear that the grant runs out in March 2011 and there are no current plans to renew it. The Conservative Party is today making a commitment to ensuring that proper funding for this essential sector can continue.
Welcoming today’s announcement by the Conservatives, Chief Executive of Children’s Hospices UK, Barbara Gelb remarked: “We are delighted that the Conservatives have pledged to extend central government funding of children’ hospices, which is currently worth £10 million a year, as a bridge to getting more funding locally. We will continue to seek a similar commitment from all political parties”
“This is about prioritising what is most important in our public services – and nothing can be more important than caring for our most vulnerable children.”
Eric Ollerenshaw, Parliamentary Candidate for Lancaster and Fleetwood commented: “Like most charities, the recession means their donations are down so it’s more important than ever than ever that they know they can rely on the funding they get from the Government”
