Member of Parliament for Central Suffolk and North Ipswich, Dr Dan Poulter has joined a cross party group of MPs in asking for urgent action on behalf of CLIC Sargent – the UK’s leading charity for children and young people with cancer.
The cross party group has written to the Chancellor asking for £750k to fund vital social care support for children and young people with cancer and their families. £750k would fund social care support for around 1,200 families at any one time, for up to 6 months.
Every year in the UK over 4,450 children and young people under 25 are diagnosed with cancer. That means every day 12 children and young people hear the news they have cancer. Cancer is the biggest killer of young people by disease in the UK.
CLIC Sargent is the only organisation that provides social care support to children and young people with cancer. This is an invaluable frontline service that supports the NHS and provides young people with practical, emotional and financial support from diagnosis onwards. CLIC Sargent also have ten Homes from Home across the UK to allow families travelling a significant distance for treatment to stay near the hospital. This allows families to be together during a worrying time in addition to helping to alleviate some financial costs. Finally, their financial grants provide families with vital economic support during one of the most worrying times of their lives.
Speaking about the issue, Dr Dan Poulter said "I have signed CLIC Sargent’s open letter calling on the Government to fund vital social care support for children and young people with cancer. It is crucial the voices of children and young people with cancer are not forgotten during the next stage of the coronavirus pandemic. It can be tough enough being a young person today, without the added complication of a cancer diagnosis and a global pandemic on top of that, so it is vital that funding is made available to ensure our charities are able to continue to support those in need. Without the support of our charities, there would be significant aditional cost to our healthcare system at an already challenging time."