WellChild’s response to the Children’s Commissioner’s report on children waiting to leave hospital

Statement from WellChild on ‘Children waiting to leave hospital’ report from the Children’s Commissioner – 23 March 2026

Matt James, CEO of WellChild, said:

“Yesterday’s Children waiting to leave hospital report from the Children’s Commissioner feels like a landmark moment – not just for WellChild, but for every family we support.

“As we mark 20 years of WellChild Nurses, it is encouraging to see long-overdue public recognition of the challenges within our health and social care system facing children and young people with complex medical needs waiting to leave hospital.

“For 20 years, this has been at the heart of WellChild’s mission: to ensure that these children and young people are thriving at home, instead of hospital.

“Over that time, we have established 54 WellChild Nurses and 18 Better at Home training suites and resources across NHS Trusts in the UK. Through this work, we prevented 16,000 hospital admissions last year alone and supported 573 children to be discharged home.

“Yet this report makes clear that, 20 years on, fundamental failures remain.

“Advances in medicine and technology mean more children are living longer with highly complex, round-the-clock care needs. Our systems have not kept pace – and that must now change to protect and safeguard these children, young people and their families.

“We are pleased to have contributed to this report and strongly support its recommendations, particularly:

• The development of joint commissioning for health services, local authorities and schools to provide care for children with the most complex needs in the community.
• The appointment of a key point of contact who can coordinate the delivery of children’s treatment and care in hospitals and the community – including social care and education.
• The mandate that children aged 16 to 17 are eligible for paediatric care as they are transitioned to adult care to ensure they do not fall through the gaps in services.
• The provision of schemes which families can access to support them with the additional costs they face due to their child being in hospital long-term, including travel to hospital, food and access to WiFi.

“However, at the heart of these challenges is a critical issue: workforce capacity.

“Too many families simply do not have access to enough people with the right clinical skills and confidence to support care at home. This gap is at the core of challenges such as delayed hospital discharge, avoidable admissions, parent carer burnout, disrupted education, financial hardship and social isolation.

“As the Department of Health and Social Care develop a workforce strategy to meet the priorities of the NHS 10 Year Plan, we urge decision makers to prioritise workforce reform for children’s complex clinical care. Recruitment and retention of a skilled workforce – from children’s community nurses and skilled carers to the upskilling of community professionals – is critical to meeting the clinical needs outlined in the Children’s Commissioner’s report and beyond.

“We stand ready to work with the Children’s Commissioner and partners across the sector to help shape a society in which these children and young people can thrive – not in hospital, but safely  at home and in their communities.”

You can read the Children’s Commissioner’s ‘Children waiting to leave hospital’, here.