Hospice Funding
Debate between Lord Balfe and Baroness Merron(2 weeks, 3 days ago)
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Baroness Merron (Lab)
My noble friend makes a very helpful point that I will certainly follow up. The fact that the majority of hospice care is provided through the NHS suggests that there is room for further co-operation between the independent hospice sector and the NHS. I am grateful for her comments and will follow that up.
Lord Balfe (Con)
My Lords, I remind the House that I am joint chair of Together for Short Lives, the hospice movement for babies and young persons. We greatly welcome the decision and announcement by the Government. Our only hope, as has been alluded to, is that there will be a development to get some forward perspective. One of the problems I addressed in my meeting with Minister Kinnock was the short-termism there has been. Can we use this gap to try to get a longer-term perspective for funding?
Baroness Merron (Lab)
We would certainly like to do that. As I mentioned, we will talk with Together for Short Lives and others to achieve that. It is very important to make sure that there are no delays to funding and that it promptly gets to where it needs to be. That is the other area we will attend to.
NHS Continuing Healthcare
Debate between Lord Balfe and Baroness Merron(4 months, 3 weeks ago)
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Baroness Merron (Lab)
I do understand the concerns raised by the noble Lord and agree that we need to take a close look at all these areas. I have already raised that with officials and with Minister Kinnock, who is the responsible Minister in this area. On the second question, there is indeed a relatively low conversion rate, and I understand that the decision was originally made to ensure that everyone who might be eligible is actually assessed. The assessment acts as a gateway to other NHS-funded care but, having looked at it, this could perhaps be made somewhat clearer. On the first question, the noble Lord will understand that I cannot give a definitive answer, and he will be aware that legislation does not limit the number of hours or the cost of nursing care that a local authority may provide. However, the Care Act 2014 sets out that local authorities can provide nursing care only in very limited circumstances—for example, where it is a minor part of overall care, such as basic wound care.
Lord Balfe (Con)
What action are the Government taking to hold integrated care boards to account to ensure that the National Framework for Children and Young Persons’ Continuing Care is implemented equitably and consistently across all local areas? I declare my interest as the joint chair of the all-party group for children with short lives.
Baroness Merron (Lab)
It is crucial that we provide the right support to children and young people. NHS England’s regional teams are working with local systems to explore the delivery of continuing care to that younger group. It is important to say to your Lordships’ House that we do not currently collect data on, for example, children and young people, but we will be doing so from April next year. That will help us capture evidence, which will enable us to improve things in the way the noble Lord and his all-party group want to do. We continue to welcome views from stakeholders and partners in this regard.