30m cash boost for children's hospices

The one-off government investment is being provided for the year 2010 to 2011 in the hope of enabling children's hospices in England to extend their services to include more support for children with terminal and life-limiting illnesses. The expansion of community children's nurses has been earmarked as a key area for funding allocation.

The announcement has received widespread support from children's hospices and charities.

Children's Hospices UK chief executive Barbara Gelb said: "This tremendous boost will enable children's hospice services in England to increase the invaluable support they give to children, young people and families in their own homes."

Act charity chief executive Lizzie Chambers also expressed her support for funding outreach work. "Families who care for life-limited children struggle to provide care at home round the clock, they can't do it alone," she said.

"Act hopes that the new funding should also support more children to die within the home, rather than in a hospital environment, which is the norm."

Investment in children's hospices has been provided by the government since 2006. The one-off cash injection announced this week is in addition to this funding, both of which will come to an end in March 2011. Children's hospices services are anxious about what will happen after 2011 and are calling on the government to extend funding in the next Comprehensive Spending Review.

Chambers believes further funding will provide families with the choices in care they deserve. "I hope that this one-off investment will lead to long term commitment and the sustainable funding that children's palliative care services need," she added.

Gelb was equally insistent about the importance of securing future investment. "I urge the public and local health authorities to continue to support their local children's hospice service," she said.