The event took place on Tuesday 17th June during Children's Hospice Week, the national awareness and fundraising week for children not expected to reach adulthood and the services, like children's hospices, that support them.
Winchester & Chandler's Ford MP Steve Brine, a long-term supporter of Naomi House and jacksplace in Sutton Scotney, met with Anna Gill OBE, a parent carer of a young person with a life-limiting condition, in addition to representatives from Together for Short Lives, the charity behind Children's Hospice Week. Steve agreed to write to the local clinical commissioning group and Hampshire County Council to ask what action they are taking to integrate services for children who need palliative care.
Together for Short Lives is the leading charity for UK children's palliative care. They support those who help, love and care for children and young people who are unlikely to reach adulthood. They work with children's hospices and a range of other services across the country to ensure that every child, young person and their family has the best possible care and support whenever and wherever they need it. From the moment of diagnosis, for whatever life holds, they help to ensure families make the most of their precious time together.
Steve Brine said: "Providers of children's palliative care, such as the excellent Naomi House and jacksplace, offer a vital lifeline to families, yet commissioning of services, particularly from the voluntary sector, is patchy and inconsistent. Well commissioned and co-ordinated palliative care helps families make to the most of their time together and enables services to develop to meet their needs.
"It is essential that health and social care services work together to ensure that services are joined up and funded fairly and sustainably by the NHS and local authorities to ensure that the excellent care they provide can continue."
Pictured; Steve joins neighbouring MP Damian Hinds (East Hampshire) at the event
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