Ivan Lewis to launch children’s palliative care strategy

Care services minister Ivan Lewis is to launch a children’s palliative care strategy for England today, designed to address current inadequacies in services, outlined in a Department of Health-commissioned review last year.

The study, published last May, found that services suffered from short-term funding and poor planning, with staff spending too much time “battling the system” and attempting to secure long-term funding.

It also said children and families were often subject to multiple assessments despite subsequently receiving no service, with many falling into the gap between health and social care.

The review called for a national strategy for England, clarification of accountability for the planning and delivery of services and “urgent” improvements in data collection.

Around 20,100 children and young people in England are likely to need palliative care services every year, around two-thirds of whom will also require social care support.

Related articles

Help the Hospices exposes “major flaws” in end of life care

Councils are key to improving palliative care for children

More information

The Association for Children’s Palliative Care