Helen reiterates support for protecting the Children’s Hospice Grant

Shropshire MP Helen Morgan has reiterated her support for ensuring sustainable funding for the thousands of children in England who urgently need vital hospice care by attending the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Children Who Need Palliative Care.

After a visit to Hope House Children’s Hospice at Morda in April this year, the MP had already given her support for protecting the grant and writing to the Secretary of State for Health. Without the grant, Hope House had warned they would have to find a significant amount of money from other areas, such as fundraising, to make up the shortfall.

This also comes after ‘Children’s Hospice Week’ last week, where the APPG for Children Who Need Palliative Care highlighted new findings from UK charity for children’s palliative care – Together for Short Lives – on the impact the loss of the grant would have on children’s hospices in England and the implications if this did not continue to be centrally distributed.

Hope House Children’s Hospice’s Chief Executive Andy Goldsmith said:

“Each year it costs £7.5 million to run our hospices and provide vital care to seriously ill local children and their families. About 80% of our funding comes from the incredible support we get from the local community, which we are extremely grateful for.

“The rest comes from various sources, including the Children’s Hospice Grant, which this year brought in £288,000, which pays for a lot of care.

“On the grand scheme of what is spent on healthcare and social care in this country the £25 million the Government spends on the Children’s Hospice Grant is a drop in the ocean.

“But the care, love and support it gives to children and families via hospices like us is immense. The Grant should continue and should be secure, and as a compassionate country the Government should commit to that funding going forward, but also look to increase it.”

Helen Morgan, MP for North Shropshire said, “Hope House do truly remarkable work to support families across Shropshire and beyond, supporting them to make the most of life in circumstances that can sometimes be too difficult to imagine.

“The Children’s Hospice Grant must be protected by the Secretary of State. The work done and care provided by hospices like Hope House across the country is truly incredible, and the grant goes a long way to making that possible.”