16 Jun Liberal Democrat Candidate for Hertsmere, Emma Matanle, backs Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospice’s (Barnet) Calls for Governmental Action in Children’s Palliative Care
Liberal Democrat Candidate for Hertsmere, Emma Matanle, gave her backing to Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospice’s (Barnet) calls for more sustained support across many areas of children’s palliative care during a visit to The Ark on 4th June 2024.
Emma said of her recent visit: ‘It was a real privilege to visit Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospice and see the amazing work that they do in their catchment area, which includes Hertsmere. Social care reform is key to our election proposal so it was very informative to hear about some of the specific challenges that Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospice face. If elected, I will be writing to our local ICB to find out what action is being taken to improve palliative care for children.’
Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospice echoes the recent Together for Short Lives report ‘Short Lives Can’t Wait’ in appealing to the new Government to protect the £25m annual Children’s Hospice Grant beyond 2024/2025 (to include an increase by at least the rate of inflation each year). We would also ask that they commit to investing an additional annual £295m to meet the current funding gap.
As there are serious recruitment challenges in our sector, we call for the new Government to expand the children’s palliative care workforce and secure the next generation of paediatric palliative care nurses by providing training at the early stages of a nurse’s career and navigable pathways into this rewarding specialism from other areas of nursing. More information on Noah’s Ark’s 2022 Nurse recruitment Campaign can be found HERE.
In July 2022, NHSE (NHS England) was restructured into Integrated Care Systems (ICSs) and Integrated Care Boards (ICBs). Each ICB is responsible for allocating commissioned income (for services that NHSE would ordinarily fund such as overnight stays and end of life care) and for distributing the Children’s Hospice Grant. We call for NHSE to ensure that the ICBs are supported and offered guidance to encourage effective working relationships between Children’s Hospices and their local ICBs.
Without these guarantees we will not be able to grow our services and be there for the 2,500 children in our catchment area that could benefit from our care*. Only 7% of Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospice’s income comes from statutory funding with the rest coming from voluntary donations. We need a pledge from the new Government to a permanent, ring-fenced Children’s Hospice Grant. The provision of palliative care for children, is not something that should be left to chance or charity in an ethical society. We hope that the new Government sees how vital our work is and commits to help us be there for more babies, children and young people – and their families.
Sophie Andrews OBE, CEO of Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospice said: ‘The party in power, whoever that may be, needs to understand and value the work we do in children’s palliative care. We need the Government to commit to a sustainable funding model that ensures we can continue to deliver first-class care to the children and families we support.’
