Dr Ashok Kumar

Labour Party | Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland

ASHOK KUMAR AND BUTTERWICK HOUSE LEADERS TO MEET SOCIAL SERVICES MINISTER OVER CHILDREN’S HOSPICE FUNDING TOMORROW (14TH FEBRUARY)

Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland Labour MP, Ashok Kumar, together with a representative of the Teesside based Butterwick Children’s Hospice, will be meeting with Social Services Minister, Liam Byrne M.P, to discuss Health Department funding for children’s hospices.     The meeting will be at the Health Department office, Richmond House in London’s Whitehall, at 6.15 p.m. tomorrow (the 14th February)   Ashok will be accompanied by Graham Leggatt-Chidgey, the Chief Executive of Butterwick Hospice.

Ashok said “I am pleased to be able to secure this meeting, as the issue of funding for children’s hospices is a central one, not last for the families who need the services that units such as the Butterwick Hospice provide.”

“At the moment this service is funded primarily by both charitable funding, lottery funding and by direct funding by the NHS through local Primary Care Trusts.   The Butterwick Hospice has particular problems because its lottery funding ends in a few weeks time.  They are hopeful of securing extra funding from the NHS, but as they admit children from a wide geographical area both in and around Teesside they have to approach no fewer than 15 Primary Care Trusts – a task which is complex and bureaucratic.”

“The real problem for children’s hospices is that they only receive a small amount of funding from the NHS, when compared to the funding adult hospices receive.”

“The key issue I want to put to Liam Byrne is to firstly look at the particular funding difficulties faced by the Butterwick Hospice, and then, secondly, to look at the general argument over the funding for the children’s hospice movement.  If a local children’s hospice like the Butterwick was to close or to contract it would both be devastating for the families concerned, but would also add a burden to local hospital services and local authority social services that would have to take up the task of caring for the children and their families. I would hope the Minister will listen sympathetically to our case”