Demelza CEO speaks at APPG for children who need palliative care

The event was hosted by Together for Short Lives on Tuesday and CEO Lavinia Jarrett spoke at the roundtable about the funding challenges faced by the hospice sector.

The drop-in event and inaugural roundtable meeting was attended by representatives of children’s hospices around the country to give MPs a critical opportunity to hear about the impact high quality hospice and palliative care makes for children with serious or life-limiting conditions, and their families. 

The drop-in session was attended by around 40 MPs, including four from some of the areas Demelza covers – Sir Roger Gale (Sandwich and Herne Bay), Clive Efford (Eltham and Chislehurst), Laura Trott (Sevenoaks) and Jim Dickson (Dartford).

A key topic of the day was around the uncertainty over the extension of the Children’s Hospice Grant beyond 2025. The following day, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Wes Streeting, confirmed that the grant will continue, with a formal announcement expected before Christmas.

He acknowledged the added pressures hospices face due to the increase in National Insurance contributions and said he is exploring how the government can address these additional pressures through the grant and the broader challenge of balancing statutory and charitable funding.

Lavinia said: “I was delighted to speak at the roundtable – it was a great opportunity for me and others to touch on the funding challenges faced by the sector.

“I was grateful to see a number of MPs from some of the areas covered by Demelza so they could hear firsthand about the support some of their constituents receive from us.

“While we are joining hospices around the UK in welcoming the Minister’s announcement about the Children’s Hospice Grant last week, we do need the further clarification on how the grant will be distributed and to be clear that the sector requires on-going sustainable funding to allow us to plan our specialist services.”