In announcing its End of Life Care Strategy last week, the Department of Health pledged £286m for adult services. But a similar strategy for children's palliative care, released in February, failed to put a figure on the amount primary care trusts can spend on such services.
Barbara Gelb, chief executive of Children's Hospices UK, said: "The government's reluctance to tell primary care trusts how much is obstructing much-needed improvements in local children's palliative care services."
However, Children's Hospices UK and the Association for Children's Palliative Care welcomed a commitment in the strategy to improving the transition from child to adult palliative care services. The strategy points out that medical advances have meant children with terminal illnesses are now more likely to live longer into adulthood.
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