Brian House faces funding pressures as patron Dan Whiston lends support during visit

Brian House patron Dan Whiston has urged people across Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre to support the hospice after visiting during Children’s Hospice Week.

He spent time with nurses and clinical staff at the Bispham-based Brian House Children’s Hospice, and met children Oliver and Solomon who were attending for day care.

Children’s Hospice Week (June 15-21), led by Together for Short Lives, highlights the work of children’s hospices nationwide as rising costs and limited statutory funding.

Brian House, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, is the second least funded children’s hospice in the UK, receiving just 11% of its annual running costs from central government sources.

Dan, who has recently held a birthday fundraiser at his Thingamajigz business, said: “It’s really important that everybody knows that Brian House needs help. Anything you can do, however big or small, makes a difference.”

He added: “Every little gesture goes such a long way. People sometimes think they can’t make a big difference, but they really can.”

Brian House chief executive David Houston said: Brian House is in the terrible position of being the second least funded children’s hospice in the UK.

“The funding we receive is crucial to the sustainability of many of the services we have been proud to provide for the last 30 years.”

A new report from Together for Short Lives shows children’s hospices are spending 18% more on services due to increasingly complex medical needs, while NHS funding rose by just 4%.

Chief executive Nick Carroll called for urgent government action, warning of “unfair and unsustainable” funding gaps affecting families’ access to care.

Dan said it was vital the community came together to protect the hospice.