Date published: 06 July 2017 by Anna Jackson
This week Rainbow Trust delivered an open letter to the Department of Health from parents, professionals and supporters of the charity. Our aim is to make sure that the new Minister for Care and Mental Health, Jackie Doyle-Price MP, has child palliative care high on her agenda as she gets her feet under her desk.
The letter followed Rainbow Trust’s publication of an important new report earlier this year that set out that our services are saving the health and social care system an estimated £2m each year, through our conservative calculations. Despite this, just three per cent of the charity’s funding comes from statutory sources.
Parents and supporters were invited to sign the open letter to make the case for fairer access to existing funding streams for child palliative care. Those signing the letter could add their reasons, with many describing how Rainbow Trust’s emotional and practical support has improved families’ ability to cope. ‘They make such a huge difference to our lives,’ wrote one parent from London.
Zillah Bingley, CEO of Rainbow Trust, said,
‘I’d like to thank all the parents, professionals and supporters who signed Rainbow Trust’s open letter to the health minister responsible for end of life care. What we are calling for is fairer access to existing funding for child palliative care, so that more families in more parts of the UK can benefit from our emotional and practical support.
We welcome Ms Doyle-Price to her new post and we look forward to receiving her response to our open letter. We also hope she will accept our invitation to meet families that Rainbow Trust supports in her own constituency in Essex so she can hear about the difference that tailored child palliative care can make to a family’s ability to cope.’
To read more of our report Hidden Savings, click here.