Children’s Hospices: Funding Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateLord Balfe
Main Page: Lord Balfe (Conservative - Life peer)Department Debates - View all Lord Balfe's debates with the Department of Health and Social Care
(9 months, 2 weeks ago)
Lords ChamberMy Lords, I declare an interest as the joint chair of the all-party group whose secretariat is Together for Short Lives. The thing that is of great difficulty in this sector is uncertainty. In the interests of permanence and certainty, will the Minister include a dedicated long-term strategy in the Government’s mandate to NHS England that addresses the palliative care needed for children and young people so that the sector can have an assured future?
My noble friend is correct; it is a long-term part of the statutory requirements of all ICBs to provide palliative care, so it is written into that NHSE mandate. It has to review all 42 ICB arrangements, and we make sure that in each setting they have the 24/7 care set-up required of them.