Bristol Mum Takes Her Family’s Story to Westminster

Published On: December 4th, 2025

The Bristol-based children’s hospice-at-home charity Jessie May, has amplified the voices of local families at Westminster after taking part in a national lobby day on 18 November 2025.

The event, hosted by the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Children Who Need Palliative Care and coordinated by Together for Short Lives, brought MPs, peers, and children’s hospice leaders together to discuss urgent issues facing families who rely on palliative and end-of-life care. The day formed part of a wider children’s hospice and palliative care lobby, with organisations across the UK meeting their MPs to call for action on workforce shortages, funding shortfalls, and inequitable commissioning.

Representing Bristol, local mum Laura McArthur spoke directly to parliamentarians about life caring for her son, Archie, who has complex health needs, and the essential support her family receives from Jessie May nurses.

Laura told MPs:

“Archie cannot walk or talk, so having trusted people around him is essential. Jessie May have supported us since he was six months old, visiting our home and caring for him so we can have a much-needed break – something we rarely get. They’ve been a godsend, like extended family. Without them, I wouldn’t have been able to do simple things like take Archie swimming or even do the weekly shop. Have you ever tried pushing a wheelchair and a trolley at the same time? It’s not easy.”

Drawing on her own experience caring for Archie, Laura reminded parliamentarians why equitable palliative care is essential:

“Palliative care is so much more than just care for the person who is unwell, it’s taking care of the whole family with compassion and respect. The fact that this provision is not available in equal measure across the UK is unacceptable. Every family in our situation should have access to it. I also believe this should also be extended to families having a choice of where their child dies. Currently children do not have the same choice as adults, to die at home. With more funding and palliative care staff this could become a reality.”

Her testimony powerfully illustrated why sustainable funding for children’s hospice-at-home services is crucial – especially for families across Bristol and the wider South West who rely on regular specialist nursing care.

During the day, parliamentarians were asked to back three urgent actions:

Secure, long-term NHS funding for children’s hospice care, including hospice-at-home services like Jessie May’s
Fair and consistent commissioning that recognises all hospice provision
Equity across Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) so children are not disadvantaged because of their postcode

Laura’s contribution ensured that Bristol families were heard at the heart of government. Her message was clear: behind political decisions are real parents trying to navigate daily emotional and practical challenges while caring for seriously ill children.

Jessie May and Laura were grateful to Care Minister Stephen Kinnock MP and the Department of Health and Social Care for listening, and for recognising the urgent need to tackle variation in children’s palliative care. The charity looks forward to the government’s forthcoming announcement and to working closely with the APPG to ensure every seriously ill child can access the high‑quality, sustainable palliative care they need, when and where they need it.

James Cooper, Head of External Affairs & Membership at Together for Short Lives, said:

“Thank you to the amazing Laura who spent the day speaking to MPs and peers about her family’s life caring for her son Archie and the lifeline support they receive from Jessie May. Hearing directly from Laura was incredibly powerful and further demonstrated the importance of being able to access high-quality children’s palliative care in the community.

“With the government now developing a modern service framework for all-age palliative and end of life care, we look forward to working with ministers and officials to make sure every seriously ill child can access the high quality, sustainable palliative care they need, when and where they need it.”

This Christmas, Jessie May is asking for your support to help families like Laura’s continue receiving vital care at home. Every donation makes a difference – whether funding an hour of nursing care or giving siblings the chance to simply be children together.