This much-needed increase in funding follows a campaign spearheaded by the UK’s umbrella charity for children’s palliative care, Together for Short Lives, and supported by EACH, in which over 6,500 people joined the call for more sustainable funding for children’s hospices.
As part of the NHS long-term plan, additional funding will be available each year over the next five years, increasing by up to £7 million a year by 2023/24, if clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) also provide additional match funding.
Graham Butland, EACH Chief Executive, said: “We welcome this very encouraging announcement, securing improved funding for vital services such as ours. More guaranteed and stable funding will allow us to plan and deliver care and support with greater confidence and longevity, particularly important as children and young people are living longer, with increasingly complex needs, and the population is continuing to increase.
“We’re delighted NHS England has recognised the gap in funding for organisations like EACH that offer vital care and support for families 24/7, whilst enabling families greater choice and easing pressure on the NHS.
“We await the detail on how this additional funding pledge will impact specifically on services in East Anglia, but we will need continued support regardless of how much we benefit.”
EACH relies on donations for the majority of its income and needs to raise more than £6 million from fundraising and over £4 million from its shops every year.
Last year, it received £768,048 from NHS England. That contributes to the delivery of the palliative and end of life care service EACH provides. This level of funding has remained stable in recent years.
EACH works really closely with, and is very grateful to receive funding support from, NHS England, all its relevant NHS Clinical Commissioning Groups and one local authority. This year, it estimates to receive just over 16% of its costs from those sources. The average across the UK for children’s hospices is 22%.
The rest of the charity’s income comes from donations, fundraising activities, charitable trusts, gifts in wills and profits from its shops.
For more information about EACH, visit www.each.org.uk.