Lifeline Fund

Tŷ Gobaith and South Wales based Tŷ Hafan Children's Hospice have joined forces to ask the Welsh Government for a sustainable 'Lifeline Fund' to give us funding equality with the rest of the UK and ensure that all Welsh children with life-limiting conditions and their families can receive the support they desperately need.

Between us, Tŷ Gobaith and Tŷ Hafan, provide respite and palliative care for more than 400 families with terminally ill children. But currently we receive less than 10% of our annual funding from the Welsh Government.

Children’s hospices in England receive 21% government funding, Northern Ireland 25% and Scotland 50%. 

The proposal for a ‘Lifeline Fund’ stems from a report published jointly by Tŷ Hafan and Tŷ Gobaith in 2020. In the Family Voices report, families from across Wales set out their experiences, hopes and fears. Describing children’s hospices as “our lifeline”, families said they urgently need more of the care that only hospices can provide, especially in relation to respite care.

Our Chief Executive Andy Goldsmith explains: “Our proposal is to move towards a sustainable model of funding that is more aligned with children’s hospice charities in other UK nations.  

“This funding would give the children’s hospices in Wales confidence to sustain, plan and expand our services to better meet the need of all children with life-limiting conditions and their families across the country, in turn addressing Wales’ ambition to be a ‘compassionate country’.”