To disagree with Children in need

[BrokenBrit]

Perhaps I should preface this and say I do give to charity and I recognise we don’t live in a fair and decent society where services are properly funded.

However, I think it’s pretty shameful having children plastered all over the tv revealing their private medical diagnosis so as to get some money for essential funding.

I also hate the narrative of disabled people needing pity and charity with the sad music and dimmed lights (I’ve not watched it this year but that has been previous years experience!). Either that or as some sort of inspiration! I just hate this narrative!

Then there are the jolly celebs making themselves feels good singing a song and raising a few £ when what really needs is change to policy and practice, a properly funded NHS, proper provision for children with SEND and much, much more. But let’s donate a quid and feel good about ourselves hey.

AIBU?

What, all people? With what? Really simplistic view.

please tell us more about your efforts to help children of this country.

Hospice is for ill people, who could arguably be called disabled. Parents may well consent, and that's their choice, but is it really a choice when the resources they need rely on them doing it? And the children themselves cannot consent.

erm the normal way? don't tell me what we pay towards it is not enough to make sure kids get the treatment they need to stay alive

Unfortunately it isn't enough.

The NHS currently in 2023 doesn't have the money to treat even some very old longstanding common diseases well. I am a person who buys her own medication from abroad due to this. My own doctor (!) health travels because her husbands heart medicine isn't funded despite it being a very old drug. Thousands of people are travelling to clinics in Europe - places like Belgium, France and Solvakia for help with relatively common illnesses.

In many areas, they are outsourcing common medical procedures to third party private firms like SpecSavers, who are now doing ear wax procedures, and hearing assessments and follow-ups for the NHS, and so if, like my neighbour, you're a 93 years old, sight impaired lady who has fallen down several times and so relies on her hearing and has blocked ears and are in confusion and distress, the nurse in the local doctors surgery will not perform the syringing procedure. I and my neighbours daughter COULDN'T get this done despite spelling out her circumstances and SpecS wouldn't come out to see her nor had an emergency slot. So her daughter had to pay private.

Some women are paying private for their smear tests.

The wait for autism assessments and Speech and Language therapy for children in some places is so long - as in my sisters SIL's case - that her ability to go to school has been extremely negatively impeded.

Please wake up. The NHS is NEVER going to cover half the specialist extra-medical stuff you see in CIN. It doesn't have the resources, has to make though decisions, and is stealthily being privatised. I can't imagine how bad things would be without things like CIN and charities to take up some of the slack.

I have told both my young boys who are early 20's to get life insurance based on what I am experiencing and seeing.

@drawingmaps I'm not arguing with you, I'm just giving my input that's all. I'm fully aware of what a hospice is and to be more precise it's a lot of end of life/dying patients. I understand your points and I have not exactly said you are wrong. Given the state of the Gov though what would you rather? Because that's what it boils down to and that's all I'm pointing out. So let's strip the CIN and wait on the government and the children's consent yeah cleaver idea. It's also usually the parent that consents to medical treatment for a child anyway so that's a bit of a moot point.

I have very much acknowledged that at present we don't have much choice other than to rely on charities. I'm just saying that the way we have to do it is problematic.

I must admit I have never understood why hospices are charities and not part of NHS. Is this similar in other countries?

Is it maybe because the medical and/or EoL care is only a small part really, relative to the holistic part that hospices do?

The NHS is generally very good at the medical bit, but they don't really do "extras".

I never watch it, wasn't there something mentioned before about Terry wogen getting paid x amount for presenting the show, I wonder how much the other celebritys get.

I would of thought they would do it for free

This !

YANBU. I know it is irrational, but I always get annoyed when wealthy celebrities tell ordinary people to donate money. I always feel that if they cared that much, they would live simpler lives and donate a higher proportion of their income to charity.

they would love to drive around in a rolls with Chris Evans

I've not heard of this, but if you mean, as I presume, our Chris Evans rather than Captain America, I would think that being anywhere in close proximity with him would be the thinking persons worst nightmare!

There was a charity that got blasted few years ago because out of all the donations and fundraising they did, only 3% of PROFITS NOT EVEN EARNINGS, profits .. went to the people in need and it worked out like £12 per person that they helped...

Apparently it's not the only one either, there's an African children charity that hasn't given them a water well in over 8 years and yet earn millions ever year. Money is unaccounted for.

Totally agree with you, OP. It is fundamentally wrong that charities have to fill the slack for necessary medical treatment and, in order to do so, they have to beg for money by trotting our sob stories. I have had to rely on charities to fill the - multiple - gaps in the NHS and, without fail, all have strongly encouraged me to give permission to share photos/videos/our story, so they can use them in their fundraising efforts. I don't blame them. There isn't enough money to provide even half of the support needed (though there's debate in the comms community about whether sob stories are actually the most effective way of raising money).

Not the point of your post, but to those commenting that hospices are just end of life care; they are not. They also provide vital physiotherapy, music and art therapy, qualified psychological support, qualified nursing care, symptom management etc., to those living with serious illnesses. All things that should be provided by the NHS.

I had some involvement with CIN several years ago, so my perspective may be out of date.
CIN disperses the money in the form of grants, usually via branches of CIN at a regional level.
The case studies you see on tv are the minority of the hardest hitting and emotionally appealing.
Most of the money goes to causes which are no less worthy imho but less popular, such as older teens, drugs and alcohol related support.
There are also grants made to organisations I absolutely wouldn't support.
It's manipulation via the media but if it were done with more transparency it simply wouldn't raise the funds required.

I believe so re sir Terry.
I was involved with one regional broadcast and everyone, including celebrities and the production staff worked for free.

I work for a small youth work charity and we provide mentoring services to Young people Age 12+ this was funded by CIN. We need so much more though as the need massively outweighs what we can offer due to funding.

It’s not just disabled children. There are loads of charities helped by children in need where there are other reasons. Some support bereavement charities for children. The diy sos for children in need was for one of those charities. There will be others.

But yes, there are lots of things included send that are underfunded and the country is in crisis and needs to look better at this. I work for a charity that supports disabled children and adults and there’s never enough money.

Emotional blackmail. I’ve never watched and never will.

It's a horrible annual bore and wouldn't watch.

It's so monotonous every year.
How about changing it to older people in need, or pets in need. Just children all the time yawn.

I agree that everything should be properly funded, however it is not. They need that money, as much of it as possible where I think it’s sad that children in need needs to exist it’s sadder that you are looking at it this way.

Children have three parents, the two biological, and the State.
So why is it my problem?

I seem to recall that Terry Wogan didn't know that he was being paid for it. Maybe his agent was a little too 'keen' in organising it (and getting their cut).

I suppose the thing is that, surely any pay would have been coming from the BBC rather than from CIN funds - as they would have had to pay for several hours of programming at that time regardless.

Or is it the done thing that the BBC pay the equivalent of what they would pay to the stars as a donation to CIN?

I got the impression that Terry did donate a lot of his own money to CIN anyway, but I can see how it looks rather murky that he was being paid to raise money for charity.