£340m pledged for disabled children

By Sunil Peck

Disability campaigners hope that £340 million worth of government funding will enable more disabled children to benefit from short breaks.
 
The money has been announced as part of the child health strategy, ‘Healthy lives, Brighter Futures,' and is in addition to funding already announced through other government initiatives. It will be distributed to Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) in England.
 
Brian Lamb, a board member of campaigning group Every Disabled Child Matters (EDCM), said that he was delighted that the Department of Health had confirmed the funding but that he would be working to make sure that PCTs spent the money on co-ordinated health and childcare services as part of a drive to support the health needs of disabled children to enable them to enjoy short breaks.
 
He said: "This should allow a more integrated approach to providing a range of short break services and health services that back them up. If you think of children with complex needs, they might need specialist support in terms of medicine and equipment to help them take advantage of short breaks and live more independently."
 
Lamb said that EDCM would be working to make sure that PCTs delivered the intentions of central government.
 
EDCM also welcomed commitments in the child health strategy which mean that by 2010, all children with complex health needs will have an individual care plan.  £30 million of the new money will also be directed towards children’s palliative care services, while new commissioning models for providing community equipment for children, will begin to be piloted in 2009-10.