I attended the launch of ‘WellChild’s Manifesto for Change’ which sets out the changes needed to improve the care given to thousands of children and young people with a serious illness or complex care needs.

The Manifesto was put together by the national charity WellChild following a lengthy consultation with the families the charity supports and the professionals it works with. It presents a challenge to decision makers to ensure services improve for all families who are caring for children and young people with serious illnesses or complex care needs across the UK.

There are at least 100,000 children and young people in the UK living with serious illnesses or complex care needs. But sadly many of the families caring for these children and young people need more support than is often available. WellChild’s Manifesto for Change sets out the priorities that need to be addressed by the next Government, specifically:

1. Better hospital care at the point of admission and diagnosis  (or in many cases re-admission);
2  A far more planned, consistent  and integrated approach to ensure families are better supported in their journey home from hospital;
3.  And finally, better access to a flexible, tailored range of high quality care and practical support to enable families to be fully equipped to care for their child at home.

At the even I met with families caring for a child with complex care needs as well as a selection of WellChild Children’s Nurses who support them.

I welcome WellChild calling for better access to training and information and support to enable families to navigate the complicated health, education and social care maze to ensure that more families get the support they need.