Wiltshire care board one of only two providing enough support for dying children
A South West-based charity calls it a ‘postcode lottery’
Last updated 18th Aug 2025
The health board that covers Swindon and Wiltshire is one of only two in the South West that meet their statutory requirements for children’s palliative care.
This is according to Together for Short Lives, a leading children's palliative care charity in the UK.
They are calling for an end to what they say is a “postcode lottery” of care for dying children.
Nick Carroll, CEO of Together for Short Lives, said: “Seriously ill children deserve to be supported by the services to make sure that they can live a great life and thrive like other children. But sadly, that's not the case for many of them. Many children and young people with a serious illness are feeling isolated and alone and the reason for that is the system is letting them down in moments that matter, mostly at the child's end of life.
“There's funding shortfalls driving that, there's a workforce shortage, and there's also a lack of leadership and accountability at a local level to make sure there is the care and support for children. So, in our new report, we found a real stark post code lottery of care”.
Across the country, only one in five health boards offer 24/7 end of life care for families, with one in three health boards not providing any support at all.
Out of seven health boards in the South West, only Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire Integrated Care Board and Cornwall and The Isles Of Scilly Integrated Care Board meet legal requirements.
This means that many children in the region cannot spend their final weeks and months in the comfort of their homes, but have to be in and out of hospital care.
“If we're, as people who aren't life-limited, are ill or if we're feeling poorly, we usually feel most comfortable in our home environment.
“So, to not be able to have that and to have to have emergency admissions and go into a clinical setting, it doesn't help the family. It doesn't help the child and it doesn't help with the start of that grieving process.
“That's not to say there is anything wrong with the hospital setting. They provide exemplary care and support, but it takes away that choice for the family and the child as well”, added Mr. Carroll.
To provide this care, the government would need to invest £310m into children’s palliative care.
“That £310m is a big figure, but to give it some context, it's only 0.16% of the total NHS budget”, explained Mr. Carroll.
“So, it really isn't a large figure in the scheme of things, and it's for the care that families and children should be getting right now already”.