Burnham unveils £30m for children’s palliative care

Palliative care for terminally ill children in England will get a £30m increase, the government has said. Half of the cash will help children’s hospices offer outreach services while the rest will go to the NHS, with a focus on providing community nurses.

Health secretary Andy Burnham said the move would help “put the convenience of the patient first”.

Barbara Gelb, of Children’s Hospices UK, said hospices’ funding still relied “overwhelmingly” on local communities.

The Conservatives have said they will provide more funding for hospices which treat terminally ill children if they win the election.

A million unpaid carers in England would get a week’s break every year under plans by the Liberal Democrats.

‘Better results’

Mr Burnham said that for too long, services had been designed to ” fit the convenience of the system”.

He added: “But care in the home can also achieve better results and save money. For anyone, facing major treatment can be scary – but particularly when you’re young.

“At times like this children want their mum and dad close by at all times and this announcement helps achieve that.”

Ms Gelb said the announcement would be a “tremendous boost” for hospices and said it was “great news” that the role of children’s nurses would be strengthened.

“However, even with this one-off cash injection, children’s hospices, which are all registered charities, will still rely overwhelmingly on their local communities for funding,” she said.

Social care for the elderly has also become a key issue in the run-up to the election, with Labour calling for a compulsory levy to fund a universal social care system for adults in England – a charge attacked as a “death tax” by the Conservatives.